Britain’s David Millar said he is primed to give his all over the coming days of climbing in the French Alps to wrest control of the Dauphine Criterium lead.
Millar finished a commendable second place in the third-stage time trial of this key Tour de France warm-up event on Wednesday, missing victory by 26 seconds after a risky ride on a technically challenging 49km course.
Slovenia’s Janez Brajkovic claimed a deserved win for his RadioShack team and took over the race lead from two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Astana, who was sixth at 1 minute, 46 seconds.
Contador has claimed that overall victory in the race is not his objective this week, and that could pave the way for Millar to add yet another feather to his cap in what has been a successful season so far.
Although Brajkovic said he will call upon his team-mates in the coming days in the French Alps, Millar said his tank is far from empty.
“I was flying at the end [of the time trial] which is a good sign for tomorrow. I didn’t empty myself completely,” he said after finishing second.
“I’m going to give it everything tomorrow. If I can’t climb then it’s because I’m not a climber. But I’m fit, so I’ve got no excuses,” he said.
With the Tour de France start in Rotterdam (July 3) a little over three weeks away, the remaining stages of the Dauphine — and in particular stage six tomorrow to the summit of Alpe d’Huez — will give RadioShack plenty of opportunity to see who’s hot and who’s not.
The US team fronted by Lance Armstrong, who is not racing here, lost experienced Spanish climber Haimar Zubeldia to a wrist injury after a crash on stage one.
But despite his absence, which ironically could give Brajkovic a Tour de France place if the Spaniard fails to recover in time, his Slovenian team-mate is determined to defend his lead.
“It’s going to be hard but we have a good team here,” said Brajkovic, who has returned to form in recent years, having initially shown his potential by winning the world under-23 time trial crown in 2004.
“We lost Haimar and that was a big loss for us and means the race could be harder for us to control. But we’ll see if we, and I, can do it,” he said. “I’ve had a solid season so far and finished in the top ten in all my races, except for Paris-Nice, where I finished 11th.”
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