Millar and Dowsett not selected for the Tour de France
1st July 2014
Neither David Millar nor Alex Dowsett has been selected to take part in the Tour de France, which means there will be just three Brits taking part in the 2014 edition of the race.
Although Millar was expected to form part of Garmin-Sharp's Tour squad, he was ill during the British Cycling Road Championships, which led to him being left out. The first indication that all might not be well was on Sunday, when Millar tweeted that his team wouldn't answer the phone to him.
None of my team will answer the phone to me. I
under-performed at the nationals. I'm now so scared about losing my
Tour spot I can't sleep.
— David Millar (@millarmind) June
30, 2014
He confirmed his non-selection yesterday afternoon, describing it as 'not cool'.
For the record, I was going to be ready for the Tour, so sad
my team didn't believe in me, after everything we've been through. Not
cool.
— David Millar (@millarmind) June
30, 2014
Meanwhile, Alex Dowsett missed out on selection for his Movistar team, due to breathing problems resulting from an infection, which meant that he did not ride the road race at the British National championships. 'It is so sad for us to leave Dowsett out,' said the Movistar manager according to this report in The Guardian.
The result is that just three Brits will take part - Froome and Geraint Thomas for Team Sky, and Mark Cavendish for Omega Pharma Quickstep.