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By Alasdair Fotheringham CUENCA, Spain, Sept 9 - Briton David Millar's time
trialling skills earned him a narrow victory over Swiss rider
Fabian Cancellara in stage 14 of the Tour of Spain on Saturday. Millar, who returned to cycling in June after a two-year
doping ban, was just fractions of a second quicker than
Cancellara over the 33 km hilly race against the clock, starting
and finishing in Cuenca. Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov was third, five seconds behind
Millar, while Spaniard Alejandro Valverde's fourth place
increased his lead in the overall standings. Valverde heads Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin by 48 seconds.
Spain's Carlos Sastre stayed third, one minute 25 seconds
behind. "I'm very pleased, I went all out from the gun and then
pushed it even harder on the climb mid-stage." Valverde told
reporters. "Vinokourov is turning into my toughest rival, but I'm
pleased with my performance anyway." "The last week is going to be tough, although it's not been
easy up to now. I've taken another step in the right direction." It was Millar's first win since his return from the ban for
taking the blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) which also cost
him his 2003 world time trial title. "This victory proves that it is possible to race and win at
the highest level in cycling without using banned drugs," said
Millar, whose first race back was the Tour de France. "I lost everything when I got banned but now I'm back, it's
fantastic." "I was as nervous as a junior before this time trial, but I
controlled my pace well and it worked out fine." Millar said his next objective would be the world
championships time trial on Sept. 20. The Tour of Spain finishes in Madrid on Sept. 17.
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