David Millar may have won two stages in the Vuelta a España since returning from his doping ban in 2006, but he considers yesterday’s overall victory in the Three Days of De Panne as being his most important result in many years.
That assessment is partly based on the fact that it is his first stage race win since the 2001 Circuit de la Sarthe, and also because of the appalling weather conditions that the riders faced this week.
"For me personally, it's the biggest," he told the Guardian. "Bigger than my Vuelta stage wins [in 2006 and 2009] because this is such a feared race and such a brutal race."
Millar’s victory was born out of consistency, but also by a powerful win in the final time trial. On day one he placed seventh, three seconds behind the victor Steve Chainel (BBox Bouygues Telecom), then on Wednesday he was 13th, 44 seconds back. A bunch sprint finish put him in the right position to capitalise on his TT abilities and he finally won overall by a comfortable margin.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get some satisfaction from that," he said, when asked if taking a big win after being turned down by Team Sky was rewarding. "But it's a great joy doing it for my team even if Team Sky didn't exist.
"I came here with ambitions to try and win overall. The first day was imperative. I couldn't just sit back and wait for the time trial, and I rode intelligently to put myself in with a chance. I wasn't prepared for the apocalypse of the second day, when the race was ripped to pieces, but it was there that I laid the foundations for victory."
Next up for the Scot is Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, where he said that he wants to capitalise on his strong form and do something. He’ll also ride Paris-Roubaix and is more excited than apprehensive about both.
"I've only started each race once, and didn't finish either, but there's no reason for me to be scared,” he said. “I feel things are really starting to click and winning has given me huge confidence. After the Classics I'm riding the Giro [d'Italia] where I want to do something special."