When David Millar won the Tour's prologue in 2000 it seemed Britain had unearthed another Boardman. When he won a mountain stage in the 2001 Vuelta it seemed Britain might have found its first Tour de France champ.

Sadly, his career has not panned out like that. First bad luck and crashes held him back, then he was caught doping. Banned and stripped of his world time-trial title, the game looked up for the Scot.

But Millar, now 30, returned in 2006 and soon showed he still has bags of ability. A solid Tour was followed by another Vuelta stage win and a British pursuit title. He won this year's Paris-Nice prologue and likes his chances in London.