His best finish came on his debut in 2000 when he was 62nd.

But the race was remarkable after he stunned the leading names in the race by taking the yellow jersey in the prologue.

Last year, he crashed early on and was eventually forced to retire through injury and exhaustion.

Millar has been compared to three-time Tour winner Greg Lemond.

He was plucked from obscurity at the age of 21 from the amateur ranks by the same man who discovered both Lemond and double Tour winner Laurent Fignon.

Millar was born in Malta and raised in Scotland, England and Hong Kong. He now lives in Biarritz, France.

This year he will aim for a second prologue win and success on a hilly stage, two things he achieved in last year's Tour of Spain.

That helped rescue his season, and he only missed the world time trial championships by seconds.

Since then there have been further difficulties, with glandular fever during the winter.

But Millar insists he is in great shape after building up his training regime as he approached the peak years of his career.