David Millar

David Millar was part of the four-man move with Mark Cavendish, Peter Kennaugh and Ian Stannard that broke clear on this Glasgow circuit in the 2013 British national road race.

Up against Team Sky duo Kennaugh and Stannard, Millar and Cavendish formed a pact, and when Stannard chased down Millar’s late bid for glory, in a move which ended Kennaugh’s ambitions, the Scotsman provided the leadout which propelled Cavendish to a comfortable victory.

This time around, Millar will be backed by a Scotland team which includes Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s Andrew Fenn, who had played a key role in teeing up trade team-mate Cavendish for that national title earlier in the race, and Evan Oliphant, a seasoned campaigned on the UK domestic circuit for Team Raleigh.

Millar was unable to defend his Commonwealth time trial title from Delhi 2010, when he also won road race bronze, on Thursday, eventually finishing eighth and two minutes off the pace, and went on to declare the race of truth a “young man’s game”.

But the 37-year-old’s tactical nous will come to the fore on Sunday, when he will race on home soil for what could be the final time in his last year as a professional cyclist. Millar needs no extra motivation to succeed.