THE SHORT ANSWER
David Millar, professional cyclist with 20 years of experience in time trialing, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Millar lands on periodisation. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS DAVID MILLAR?
David Millar is one of the most articulate voices in cycling — a former Tour de France stage winner and yellow jersey wearer, multiple British TT champion, and a rider whose 2004 EPO ban turned him into one of the sport's most credible reformist voices. He co-founded the team that became Slipstream / Garmin-Sharp explicitly around an anti-doping mission, served two decades on the front end of British TT culture, and is now ITV4's lead cycling commentator. For amateurs trying to understand TT pacing, position, and what the modern peloton actually thinks about racing, he is the bridge.
MILLAR ON PERIODISATION
Millar’s key positions on periodisation.
- The fastest TT position is the one you can hold and produce power in for the full distance — wind-tunnel-optimal is irrelevant if you fall apart at 30 minutes.
- Wider tyres at appropriate pressure roll faster than narrow high-pressure tyres on real road surfaces — 25mm beats 19mm at 130psi for nearly every amateur.
- Cadence beats gearing in a TT — spinning a smaller gear faster beats grinding a bigger one over 10–25 mile distances.
- Speed is the only metric that scores you in a TT — power and heart rate are inputs, speed is the output.
- Position, tyres, pacing and pedalling efficiency on a stock bike give amateurs more time than a £10,000 frame upgrade ever will.
IN MILLAR’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from David Millar’s appearances on the podcast.
“the fastest position is the best position you want to find the fastest position for you not the fastest position full stop”
“another one is the big that big gears are better this is something that kind of was something that I I had to learn the hard way isn't true that's what I think people forget they think that the bigger the gear it's the faster they're going to go it's not it's how fast you pedal that gear”
“the third thing is a speed endurance be able to kind of train your body to handle the high workload by overloading it in the training so when it comes to actual race day it's not a surprise”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where David Millar covers periodisation and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does David Millar say about periodisation?
David Millar, professional cyclist with 20 years of experience in time trialing, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Millar lands on periodisation. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Millar's main point on periodisation?
The fastest TT position is the one you can hold and produce power in for the full distance — wind-tunnel-optimal is irrelevant if you fall apart at 30 minutes.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover David Millar on periodisation?
Millar discusses periodisation in this episode: "Time Trial Faster with David Millar | Roadman Cycling Podcast".