Millar waiting for his moment

By Shane Stokes in Alto de La Cobertoria

David Millar (Saunier Duval) performed strongly on the first day in the mountains but has since backed down, choosing to save his strengths to go for stage wins. He feels that his form is good, even if the stage 9 course didn’t suit him.

"I felt really good but those climbs are too steep for me, I am too big for that. I just couldn’t stay with the front group, no way... that is the problem with being a big, heavy bloke. But the rest of the stage I felt really good, to be honest, although it was a really hard day.

"Confidence is a funny thing - it is up and down. Some days it is good and then if you get a bad day, it drops. But I am playing the long game. I will go for the time trial and also see what the other stages are like."