Cycling: Millar Slips to Seventh

David Millar's hopes of the biggest stage-race win of his career received a body blow yesterday when the Scot slipped to seventh place overall in the Paris-Nice "race to the sun", after the toughest stage of the eight-day event through the Massif Central to the town of Mende was won by the young Spaniard Alberto Contador.

Millar is only 35sec behind the new race leader, the Italian Davide Rebellin, and the overall standings remain tightly packed, but there is only one testing stage remaining, on Sunday around Nice. Rebellin, who is a 35-year-old one-day classic specialist, has the experience and pedigree to take overall victory, having finished second and third in recent years in the race.

The Italian rode cannily on the mile-long climb through pine woods to the finish, which included stretches of one-in-seven and has been christened the Laurent Jalabert ascent in honour of the Frenchman's great ride to win the Tour de France at its summit in 1995. Rebellin kept his lead over Contador without wasting too much effort, knowing that the Spaniard had finished several seconds behind him when the frontrunners split at Monday's stage finish. Millar rode steadily to limit his losses and finished 14th, 45sec behind Contador.

Meanwhile, the British squad for the world track championships in Mallorca from March 29-April 1 will look forward to London in 2012 as well as Beijing next year. Although the Olympic champions Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins are named as expected, there are two junior world champions in the sprinter Anna Blyth and the BMXer Shanaze Reade, who will ride a new event, the women's team sprint.

The surprise packet, however, is the 19-year-old endurance rider Jonny Bellis from the Isle of Man, who will race the inaugural men's omnium championship, which includes five separate events to test both speed and stamina. Bellis caught the selectors' eye in last month's World Cup meeting in Manchester when he managed fourth in the Madison relay with his fellow academy rider Ben Swift and played a big part in the academy team's bronze medal in the 4,000m team pursuit.

British squad: Spring event riders Anna Blyth, Victoria Pendleton, Shanaze Reade, Matt Crampton, Ross Edgar, Chris Hoy, Craig MacLean, Jamie Staff. Endurance event riders Katie Curtis, Wendy Houvenaghel, Rebecca Romero, Jonny Bellis, Ed Clancy, Rob Hayles, Paul Manning, Chris Newton, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins.