According to British media outlet BBC, Mark Cavendish, the winner of the UCI Road World Championships and the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, stated that David Millar, who was banned in 2004 for using the banned substance EPO, has been allowed to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.
Currently, the British Olympic Association has a rule that athletes who have served a ban of six months or longer are permanently ineligible to compete in the Olympics. David Millar has no intention of challenging this regulation. However, according to Cavendish, if the British team hopes to win a medal in the road cycling event at the London Olympics, they need Millar on the team.
It is reported that EPO is a drug that increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and is listed as the top banned substance under the category of "peptide hormones and related substances" in the 2005 World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list. Because taking this drug can enhance an athlete's endurance, many have risked using it and ended up disgraced. British cycling veteran David Millar tested positive for EPO during a race in 2004, which led to his exclusion from the 2004 Olympic team and also cost him a spot in the Tour de France.
According to Cavendish, the Australian and German cycling teams are also closely monitoring the situation regarding whether Millar will be allowed to compete in this year’s Olympics.
