Millar says USADA report will change lives

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David Millar has made further comment in the days proceeding the release of USADA’s report in which he suggests that the lives of his current teammates - Dave Zabriskie, Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde - will be changed forever. This follows his earlier suggestion that the UCI’s honorary President Hein Verbruggen should step down.

The three Garmin-Sharp riders provided statements to the public accepting their six-month suspensions from competition and apologising for their past actions. Zabriskie, Danielson and Vande Velde were former teammates of Lance Armstrong at US Postal.

"They are humiliated, they are ashamed and they are terrified," Millar reportedly told De Telegraaf. "Their lives will never be the same. It is very hard for them. I know for sure."

Millar, who has ridden with the team run by Jonathan Vaughters since 2008, has been a strong voice in the anti-doping movement since returning from suspension in 2006. He has since written his own book, Racing Through the Dark that describes his earlier years as a professional and subsequent decision to use doping products however, the level of detail in the more than 1,000-page USADA document is a huge turning point for the sport.

"By doing what they have done, they change the sport in the right direction," Millar said.

"There are many who are also relieved - the hundreds of men whose names are not found in the report on Armstrong."

While the Garmin-Sharp team has been a strong advocate in the fight against doping since its inception and was one of the first to adopt the UCI approved ‘no needle policy’, it’s the upcoming riders that Millar says will be most affected by the consequences of the USADA report.

"This whole thing is especially annoying for young riders who now find themselves confronted with the past."