David Millar to mentor young cyclists on dangers of doping
Millar was a prodigious talent and won the Tour de France prologue before turning to performance-enhancing drugs. He served a two-year ban from 2004 to 2006 after admitting to using blood-boosting agent EPO early in his career.
He returned to the sport a reformed character and won a stage of the 2012 Tour de France before competing at the London 2012 Olympics after the British Olympic Association bylaw banning those with doping convictions was quashed.
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Hide AdBritish Cycling technical director Shane Sutton said the 39-year-old Millar has been working with the academy group, which has relocated to Italy, in a mentoring role on a voluntary basis, with a view to an official position.
Sutton said: “Nurturing an anti-doping culture is at the heart of everything we do at British Cycling, and educating our young riders on the subject is a responsibility we take seriously.
“Having someone of David’s calibre on board to support us in this education process is invaluable; he is readily available to share his well-rounded experiences as a professional cyclist to the young riders who aspire to succeed in their careers.
“In addition to his mentor work, David brings with him a massive amount of training and tactical knowledge which will support the work of the coaches, and he’s become a well-respected figure in cycling which will help us to open doors when it comes to fielding young talent into professional road teams.
“David will work with the squad on a voluntary basis until the end of the month with a view to subsequently joining the team in a more official capacity.”
Millar also won the 2010 Commonwealth Games time-trial gold medal for Scotland, after taking silver at the World Championships a few weeks earlier, and claimed stage wins in all three Grand Tours after returning to the professional peloton.