Cycling: Millar beats Contador after adopting strategy of 'controlled panic'

A team-mate's advice to ride like a "loony" spurred David Millar to victory in yesterday's Criterium International final time trial. The Briton clocked the fastest time over 7.7 km in and around Porto Vecchio in Corsica to beat two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador.

Millar credited his win to the tips from fellow Garmin rider Christian Vande Velde. "After I messed up the Paris-Nice prologue [by finishing seventh] by over-strategising, he took it upon himself to take charge," Millar said.

"His words of advice were, 'controlled panic'. So that's what I did, I just rode like a loony. It's like I rode a bat out of hell and didn't think about it." On Saturday, Russell Downing had taken the second stage, winning a bunch sprint at the end of a 75-km ride around Porto Vecchio to become the first Briton to win in Team Sky's colours.