Millar to headline Chrono des Nations

Only four days after becoming the Commonwealth Games champion in Delhi, India, David Millar has another appointment with racing against the clock. Also a silver medallist at the world championship behind Fabian Cancellara in Geelong, Australia, the Scot will be the hot favourite for the at Chrono des Nations in Les Herbiers, France, on Sunday, October 17.

"The Vuelta has given me the right condition for time trials and I'm determined to try and win the Chrono des Nations," Millar said. "It's a prestigious race."

Last year's Chrono des Nations was won by Alexandre Vinokourov who will not defend his title. The Kazakh is busy in China riding the Tour of Hainan as a preparation for November's Asian Games in Guanghzou, China, in November.

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However, Millar will face a fierce competition in France as Olympic silver medallist Gustav Larsson (Saxo Bank), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia), Markel Irizar (RadioShack) and on-form Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) are also expected to put strong performances.

Some 12 national champions will line up for Sunday's race: Larsson of Sweden, Boasson Hagen of Norway, Pinotti of Italy, Nicolas Vogondy of France, Rubens Bertogliati of Switzerland, Raivis Belohvosciks of Latvia, Grega Gazvoda of Slovenia, Matija Kvasina of Croatia, David McCann of Ireland, Matti Helminen of Finland, Jaroslaw Marycz of Poland and Ioannis Tamouridis of Greece.

In the Under 23 category, European champion Alex Dowsett, who finished second to Millar at the Commonwealth Games, will be up against French champion Nicolas Bonnet while world champion Hanna Solovey from the Ukraine will contest in the junior women's event. A duel is expected between Amber Neben and Jeannie Longo who respectively came fourth and fifth at the world championship in Geelong in the elite women's field.