Millar aims to put show back on the road in Spain

Right now David Millar's message to his fans is a deceptively simple one: the Tour de France and its painful memories have been forgotten, long live the Tour of Spain.

This Saturday, Britain's leading stage-race cyclist will begin his first ever ride in La Vuelta aiming high: his first goal is a win in the stage one time-trial – at 13 kilometres a short, technical affair winding through the university town of Salamanca.

But the 24-year-old admits a second objective is also to put memories of his crash in the opening prologue of the Tour behind him, where a puncture on the second last corner left him out of the fight for the first maillot jaune of the race.

The other sequel of that high-speed brush with French tarmac for Millar was an injured and badly bruised left leg. Suddenly, rather than fighting to defend a top position, he found himself struggling just to finish inside the time limit each day.

It was all a far cry from his first glorious days in the 2000 Tour, with the prologue victory putting the maillot jaune on his back and the congratulations flooding in. This time round there was just pouring rain to contend with, and an injury which would not heal quickly enough for the fast-looming Alps.

Having crept up the first serious climb of the Tour, the Col de la Madeleine, Millar knew the suffering had gone far enough. He quit the race on the descent and promptly went underground, only watching the Tour de France on one day "because two friends of mine were in a break." Many expected Millar, given to flashes of brilliance and equally sudden dips in form, to end his season there and then.

However, not only has he returned to racing, but he has done it in style, winning one important stage race in August, the Tour of Denmark, as well as taking third overall in the less prestigious Tour de la Region Wallonnes in Belgium.

"I didn't overdo it, that was the key" is how Millar explains his fast-returning form. "I didn't touch the bike for what was left of July, but after Region Wallonnes I knew I was coming back into good shape." Indeed, Millar may not have had such a spectacular summer as 12 months ago, but in terms of actual wins, (six so far) this has been his most successful season in his five-year career.

However, he is quick to recognise that the Tour of Spain is an altogether much harder prospect than Denmark. Unlike the more cosmopolitan Tour de France, foreigners traditionally are shown little mercy on a race regarded by the Spanish as their own property, despite their taking just two home wins in the last decade.

An ambitious project, then but the 24-year-old argues he will be coming fresh to Spain: "I've been training in Tuscany for a week rather than racing so hard. The problem with the Tour, apart from the injury, was being burned out before I even started."

Returning to the Vuelta after a disappointing Tour has been a well-trodden path in cycling ever since the Spanish race shifted dates from April to September in 1996. Though the last Briton to lead the Vuelta was Scottish climber Robert Millar 16 years ago, the Cofidis leader reckons his chances to do the same are good for the first few days: "I will just have to see how far I can go, and at least there are no never-ending climbs like in the Alps.

"Overall, I've been the most consistent time-triallist in cycling this year and that's a plus, but I always said 2001 would be a season of transition for me. Like the Tour, the Vuelta will be another part of the learning process, and I hope it's going to be everything the Tour de France wasn't."