David Millar has decided to end his career at the end of the 2014 season. Having earlier hinted that such a decision was in store, the Brit has now finally made up his mind and will hang up the bike when next year has been brought to an end.

When the 2015 season kicks off, one of cycling's stars will be missing. David Millar has decided that the 2014 season will be his last as a professional rider.

In late July, Millar already hinted that the birth of his second child had made him rethink his career plans and that he was considering ending his career shortly after next year's Commonwealth Games which takes place in his native Scotland. At the end of the Tour de France, he wrote a blog in French paper L'Equipe in which he elaborated on his thoughts.

"I always thought I would stop my career at 39 but I think it will be sooner. One thing has changed: I've become the father of two children who were born quite close together: I've got two children, one is two years old son and the other is two months old. Since then, I have a completely different view of my life as a professional cyclist. My second son was born on May 2 but since then I've spent only 16 days at home. I don't like that," he wrote at the time.

Now Millar has definitively made up his mind: the 2014 season will his last as a professional rider. According to the Brit, the decision hasn't been a difficult one.

"No, it's been quite organic really," he told Wielerrevue.  "It's been one of these things where you always think that it's going to be a definitive moment but it hasn't. It has kind of crept up and I am suddenly realizing that it is time."

Last year Millar won a stage in the Tour de France and this year he got agonizingly close to the leader's jersey in the world's biggest bike race. Those results show that he can still compete with the best but his perspective has changed.

"I can still be on top of the game," he said. "I know that but it's a lot harder now. I want to be on the top of my game next year so I know that I can get that out of me."

"My body is actually getting stronger but I don't need it as much," he added. "Now I love it and I want to be able to do it but I don't need it as much as I did when I was younger. So it's a conscious decision now whereas it wasn't before."

Millar has had a glorious career since he won the opening time trial of the 2000 Tour de France. His image was tainted when he served a two-year ban for EPO use but returned as one of the strongest anti-doping voices in the professional peloton. He continued to deliver strong results after his comeback and won stages in both the Tour and Vuelta and finished 2nd in the 2010 world time trial championships.

Millar will get the chance to say proper goodbye to his home fans as the 2014 Tour de France starts in England and is followed by the Commonwealth Games on home soil.