By Shane Stokes in Lugo
David Millar was pleased with his Vuelta thus far when Cyclingnews spoke to him at the start of the eighth stage in Léon. He was notable for his efforts in the closing kilometres, doing huge turns at the front to try to set things up for a sprint win for Saunier Duval team-mate Francisco José Ventoso.
"I felt great yesterday [Thursday]. It just felt easy, I am just getting stronger and stronger. It was fun. I am not chasing form, it is just there, it just gets better and better. I can just do what I want at the moment, so that is good."
Prior to Thursday's stage, Millar said he might make an effort on the final climb, having ridden well two days previously up to the Estación de Esqui La Covatilla. "I felt good on the first climb. I will try again today and then Sunday I am going to decide [what to do] because I would like to win stages. I might go hard until Sunday and then shut it down for a few days, and then start picking ones to go for."
In the end, Millar either wouldn't or couldn't dig as deep as he did on Wednesday, the Scot finishing 85th, 12'45 back. Though he may have opted to take it easy and get ready for bigger efforts in the next few days. "I've no interest in riding hard every stage - what am I going to go for, top 20? That doesn't interest me. I will probably take the second half of the race pretty easy, day on, day off. That is better, I don't want to be finishing here tired. I want to be fresh for the world championships.
"My confidence is coming back, that is the biggest thing. I am seeing that I am strong so that is good... it helps a lot."
