Cycling Round Up

Feature: By Shane Stokes

Millar’s softly, softly approach

(Jan 5) Rising star David Millar is to take a low-key approach to the start of the season in order to avoid the fatigue which hampered his performance in last year’s Tour de France. Speaking at Cofidis’ recent training camp in St. Raphael, France, the 25 year old stated that since last season ended he has taken a ‘good break’ from the bike, unwinding in Australia with his fiancée Shari.

‘I haven’t been doing much at all, just relaxing’, he said. ‘The start of last season was a bit hectic, there was a lot of pressure on the team to get results and so I was racing hard right from the beginning of the year. This season it is going to be different. I will be taking it easy with my training until January and then start building up from there.’

Millar, who has returned to Australia after the training camp, will make his racing debut in March, a month later than last year’s season opener in the Tour of the Mediterranean. The Four Days of Dunkirk in May is to be his first serious objective, with the Tour de France, Tour of Spain and world championships his main aims for the season. ‘I will peak for those three races’, he said, ‘they are my big goals'.

Despite their differences in the past, Millar has said that he hopes former team captain Frank Vandenbrouke makes a successful return to racing. ‘Frank has been through a lot and it would be good to see him get back on track. Part of the problem for him was that everyone has been treating him like a king since he was young. He always got his way. I hear that he is training very hard for his return – my only concern is that if it doesn’t go well at the start, that he might get discouraged. I hope he is patient.’

Meanwhile, Millar’s team-mate Rob Hayles has expressed satisfaction with his recovery following a car crash in September. Hayles’ vehicle was hit side-on by a truck, leaving the former Prutour stage winner with broken ribs, a pelvic fracture and cracked vertebrae. ‘Things have gone quite well since then – I was told that I would be off the bike for three months, but managed to do some swimming and riding on an indoor trainer to keep in shape during that time. I am now back on the road and quite happy with my progress’, said the 28 year old.

One benefit of his accident is that he has lost weight. ‘I am a couple of kilos lighter now than I was before. I am hoping that will help me climb a bit better next season,’ he said. That weight reduction would certainly come in handy if Hayles succeeds in achieving his main goal for this season, getting a ride in the Tour of Spain. ‘I want to ride strongly in all the races, such as Paris-Roubaix, but going to the Vuelta and helping David would really be good’.

Hayles plans to spend the rest of the pre-season training in Manchester, before moving to France. ‘I don’t mind the weather back home. I don’t think it is really training if you are out in sunshine’, he said with a smile. ‘The cold and rain doesn’t bother me - it is all part of the job. Toughens you up!’