CYCLING/Tour de France: It is 21 years since a Briton pulled the red-on-white polka-dotted jersey over his shoulders, and yesterday one Millar managed to succeeded another, with the former poster boy of British cycling, David, emulating the quiet, taciturn Robert in the shadow of the great cathedral and the looming city walls.
Millar earned the measled vest after an escape through Kent which the Saunier Duval leader rightly described as "a suicide mission" but which truly brought the British stage to life in front of crowds as large as those which packed central London for Saturday's prologue time trial.
"The weekend has been pretty damn good, or it seems that way now," he said.
"Today was one of those days I will never forget. It was magic. I've never seen anything like those crowds. It gave me goosebumps at times. I was very proud to be a Briton in the Tour in Britain."
David is not likely to repeat Robert's feat of 1984, when the Scot carried the climber's jersey from the Pyrenees to Paris, becoming the only Briton to win a major award in the Tour.
However, the job of defending the jersey at least today and tomorrow will be simple, because there are no ranked climbs on today's flat run through Belgium and only a single ascent tomorrow.
After picking up time bonuses at intermediate sprints, Millar lies third overall behind Saturday's prologue winner, Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland.
The bulk of the stage through the rolling hills, oast houses and villages of tile-hung cottages belonged to Millar, who had acknowledged that he is below his best form and had seemed relieved when Saturday's time trial was finally out of the way.
His 12th place had been by no means a disgrace, however, and yesterday he went clear soon after the start in front of Greenwich's Naval College on a mission to write his own personal Canterbury Tale.
"I felt I had let the side down on Saturday. Yesterday morning, I felt I hadn't done anything. I remembered that in 1994 I went to see the race (at Brighton), I waited four hours on the barriers, the break came and then Chris Boardman came and attacked the bunch and it made my day. I can still remember how excited it made me at the time, and I had that in mind today."
He was joined by four riders, the Frenchmen Freddy Bichot and Stephane Auge, the Ukrainian Andriy Grivko and a Belarussian, Aleksandr Kuchinsky. Millar led over the first ranked climb of the day shortly before the run through demure Tunbridge Wells, but in Goudhurst, where the crowds spilled on to the pavements in front of the Vine pub, he was not placed.
Millar seemed to run out of steam shortly after the escape crossed the Kent and East Sussex Railway at Tenterden, letting Auge, Bichot and Kuchinsky move clear. Approaching the final climb of the stage, to the panoramic ridge of Farthing Common, Auge in turn left the other two behind, scenting a chance to wear the jersey which, to the French at least, has acquired cult status since the days of Richard Virenque.
With the bunch a little way behind at the summit, Auge must have felt the jersey was his, but behind him Millar sprinted to second place, putting the pair equal on points. In that situation in any classification, the jersey is awarded to the rider who is ahead in the overall standings, as Millar knew.
Millar has only rarely raced in Britain since turning professional in 1997, not by choice but because the opportunities have never been there, and, he said later, he appreciated hearing "David" being shouted at him rather than "Daveed".
The dozens of signs with his name on yesterday indicated that he has been forgiven by the British cycling public for dabbling with drugs in 2001 and 2003 now that he has served his ban.
If Kent had a day to remember, Mark Cavendish would probably rather forget his first road-race stage on his debut Tour.
Hotly tipped to win in Canterbury, the sprinter crashed as the field sped down the Roman road from Farthing to Canterbury, and had to change his bike twice.
He was not the only fastman on the deck. The puckish Australian and 11-times stage winner Robbie McEwen fell heavily on his hands and knees not long before Cavendish tasted the tarmac. He was initially worried he had broken a wrist and then had a desperate chase to regain the field with his team.
He appeared apparently from nowhere in the final metres to leave the other sprinters at what seemed to be a standstill and whizzed across the finish line a bike-length clear, powered largely, he said, by anger and pain. His future in this Tour is now uncertain, he added yesterday after assessing the pain in his hands, wrists and knees.
Last night the caravan crossed to Belgium by ferry, still reeling at the scale of the crowds during the race's weekend in south-east England. For the London mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the people of Kent, it cannot come back soon enough.
Guardian Service
FIRST STAGE:
(203km between London and Canterbury): 1. Robbie McEwen (Australia and Predictor - Lotto) 4hrs 39:01"; 2. Thor Hushovd (Norway and Credit Agricole) ST; 3. Tom Boonen (Belgium and Quick-Step); 4. Sebastien Chavanel (France and Francaise des Jeux); 5. Romain Feillu (France and Agritubel); 6. Robert Foerster (Germany and Gerolsteiner); 7. Oscar Freire (Spain and Rabobank); 8. Markus Burghardt (Germany and T-Mobile); 9. Francisco Ventoso (Spain and Saunier Duval); 10. Tomas Vaitkus (Lithuania and Discovery Channel); 11. Bernhard Eisel (Austria and T-Mobile); 12. Murilo Fischer (Brazil and Liquigas); 13. Erik Zabel (Germany and Milram); 14. Xavier Florencio (Spain and Bouygues Telecom); 15. Gert Steegmans (Belgium and Quick-Step); 16. Michael Albasini (Switzerland and Liquigas); 17. Philippe Gilbert (Belgium and Francaise des Jeux); 18. Steven de Jongh (Netherlands and Quick-Step); 19. Danilo Napolitano (Italy and Lampre); 20. Manuel Quinziato (Italy and Liquigas).
OVERALL STANDINGS: 1. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland and Team CSC) 4hr 47:51sec; 2. Andreas Kloeden (Germany and Astana) +13"; 3. David Millar (Britain and Saunier Duval) +21"; 4. George Hincapie (US and Discovery Channel) +23"; 5. Bradley Wiggins (Britain and Cofidis); 6. Vladimir Gusev (Russia and Discovery Channel ) +25"; 7. Vladimir Karpets (Russia and Caisse d'Epargne ) +26"; 8. Thor Hushovd (Norway and Credit Agricole ) +29"; 9. Alexander Vinokourov (Kazakhstan and Astana) +30"; 10. Thomas Dekker (Netherlands and Rabobank) +31".
POINTS STANDINGS: 1. Robbie McEwen (Australia and Predictor - Lotto) 35 points; 2. Thor Hushovd (Norway and Credit Agricole) 30; 3. Tom Boonen (Belgium and Quick-Step) 26; 4. Sebastien Chavanel (France and Francaise des Jeux) 24; 5. Romain Feillu (France and Agritubel) 22; 6. Robert Foerster (Germany and Gerolsteiner) 20; 7. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland and Team CSC) 19; 8. Oscar Freire (Spain and Rabobank) 19; 9. Markus Burghardt (Germany and T-Mobile) 18; 10. Francisco Ventoso (Spain and Saunier Duval) 17.
TEAMS: 1. Astana 14 hrs 24 min 51 secs; 2. Team CSC +2"; 3. Discovery Channel +5"; 4. Caisse d'Epargne +18"; 5. Cofidis +20"; 6. T-Mobile +45"; 7. Rabobank +47"; 8. Francaise des Jeux +48"; 9. Liquigas +52"; 10. Quick-Step +54".
KING OF THE MOUNTAIN: 1. David Millar (Britain and Saunier Duval) 5 points; 2. Stephane Auge (France and Cofidis ) 5; 3. Freddy Bichot (France and Agritubel) 3; 4. Andriy Grivko (Ukraine and Milram) 2; 5. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Belarus and Liquigas) 2; 6. David De la Fuente (Spain and Saunier Duval) 1.
