David Millar’s autobiography, Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar, has made the seven-strong shortlist for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

The brutally honest account charts Millar’s rise to fame as a Tour de France stage winner in 2000, suspension for two years after being arrested in 2004 for using EPO, and subsequent revival as world time trial silver medallist and Commonwealth Games champion in 2010.

The Garmin-Cervelo rider delayed the start to the 2011 season to finish the book, taking the rare step among sportsmen of penning it himself, rather than using a ghost writer.

The winner of the award, now in its 23rd year, takes home a £23,000 cash prize, a £2,000 William Hill bet, a hand-bound copy of their book, and a day at the races.

Professional cyclist turned journalist and author Paul Kimmage is also on the shortlist for his book Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson, which tells the moving story of the England under-21 rugby player left paralysed from the neck down after a collapsed scrum.

The judging panel for this year’s award is made up of broadcaster and writer John Inverdale, award-winning journalist Hugh McIlvanney, broadcaster Danny Kelly, and columnist and author Alyson Rudd, while John Gaustad, co-creator of the award and founder of the Sportspages bookshop, is chairman.

The winner will be announced on Monday November 28.

Shortlist

1. Among The Fans: From Ashes to the Arrows, a Year of Watching the Watchers by Patrick Collins
2. Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske-Harrison
3. The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn’t Stop by Bill Jones
4. Engage by Paul Kimmage
5. Racing Through The Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar by David Millar
6. A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng
7. 32 Programmes by Dave Roberts