In an interview with The Guardian, David Millar has defended his inclusion as a mentor to young riders part of the various British Cycling programs. He has come under fire over his new role as he is a convicted doper, but he says he is perfect for the role as he can pass on his findings from his mistakes to help British riders of the future stay away from making the bad choices he did.

The announcement by British Cycling sparked a mix of support and criticism. British race organiser Vin Cox resigned from the federation over the issue, and Millar's fellow admitted doper Jörg Jaksche tweeted a link to the announcement on Cyclingnews with "Ouch!" as the only comment. Matrix Pro Cycling women's team manager Stef Wyman similarly tweeted, "If this was published on 1 April, I'd understand. Why. Just Why."

Shane Sutton, the technical director at British Cycling, has shed some ore light on the decision to appoint Millar as a mentor.

"The more expertise we can bring, the better, Dave brings that in abundance. I think people will question why we've brought Dave in. We know Dave's past. I don't think there's anyone better to put the guys in the right direction on these anti-doping stance, given the way he's reformed himself. He's one of the leading lights in that particular area."

Millar said he can pass on what he knows about doping to young riders, so that they wont make the mistakes he made and they can have successful and untarnished careers.

"I have been there and done it all recently, good and bad," Millar said, adding, "I can tell them about the risks, how [doping] can damage you. It's about qualifying them for the world they are going into. Cycling has cleaned up its act, it's possible to get to the top clean, but you can see from what's happening in athletics that there is a way to go," he told the Guardian.