Anna Millward

Anna Millward, née Wilson, (born 26 November 1971 ) is an Australian cycle racer. During her cycling career, she won the overall UCI points title in 2001, and twice was UCI overall World Cup points champion, winning a total of 5 World Cup races in her career. She also won two silver medals in the UCI Road World Championship competition in 1999 and twice won the Women's Challenge race (1996 and 2000).

In the 2000 Sydney Olympics she finished fourth in both the time trial and the road race. In the month after her home Olympics, on 18 October, she broke the UCI women's Hour record in Melbourne with a distance of 43.501 km. Millward had broken the hour record for the first time in 22 years, but she was to hold it for less than a month (Jeannie Longo rode 44.767 km in November 2000).

In the 1998 Commonwealth Games, she won gold in the time trial and bronze in the road race, she won a silver in the 2002 Commonwealth Games time trial.

In 2000, a portrait of her by Simon Benz was hung in the Archibald Prize.

Biography

Anna Millward (Wilson until her marriage in 2000) did not start out in life as an athlete. Instead, with the encouragement of her family, especially her father, who died when she was 11 years old, academics were given great emphasis in her upbringing. At that point in life, Millward concentrated on her youthful passion, the sciences. Later, at the urging of a teacher, she pursued a combined law and science degree at Monash University. The study of law gradually gained favor with her until she made it her primary study, eventually graduating with a degree in law in 1996.

It was also while attending university that she discovered her other passion - the bicycle. Initially riding a bicycle commuting to and from school, Millward and some friends decided to enter the Great Victorian Bike Ride, a nine-day recreational tour. Millward traces her passion for the bike to this tour.

Then in 1993, she decided to enter her first race, a lower grade event with her local club which she won. This marked the beginnings of an illustrious cycling career that would lead to many victories in prestigious events.

Palmarès

1996 1st A stage of the Tour of Majorca 6th Liberty Classic 1st Overall, Women's Challenge 1st Stage 5 2nd TT Stage Olympic team member (Australia) 18th UCI World Points Rankings

1997 1st Overall, Street Skills 2 stage victories, Sprint and Points jerseys 1st Australian National Time Trial Championships 2nd Australian National Road Race Championships

1998 Grande Boucle (Tour Cycliste Feminin) 1st Stage 6 14th Overall, Giro d'Italia Femminile (2.9.1) 1st Points Classification 1st Stage 4 1st Stage 7a 1st Stage 10 Women's Challenge 1st Boise to Idaho City Road Race 2nd Overall, Canberra Women's Cycling Classic (Tour de Snowy) Winner stages 3 and 5 1st Queen of the Mountains classification 2nd Overall, Street Skills Stage Race 1st Stage 4 1st Discovery Channel Women's Cycling Classic 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 3 1st Stage 4 1st Time Trial, Commonwealth Games 3rd Road Race, Commonwealth Games

1999 2nd Time Trial, World Championships 2nd Road Race, World Championships

1st GP Tell World Cup (Switzerland) 1st Tour de Suisse Feminin Prologue 1st GP des Nations Time Trial 1st New York City Women's Challenge 3rd Beneden-Maas World Cup (Netherlands) 4th Overall, Red Zinger Classic 1st Stage 3 Superweek 1st Stage 7 Women's Challenge (2.9.1) 1st Stage 1 1st Points jersey Montreal (Can) World Cup - 3rd place Tour de l'Aude (2.9.1) 1st Stage 6A 1st Athens Twilight Criterium 2nd LeFleur Criterium 6th Overall, Tour of Willamette 1st Prologue 1st Stage 3 1st Stage 4 1st Overall, Boulder-Roubaix 1st Stage 1 (Criterium) 1st Overall, Sea Otter Classic 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 3 3rd Street Skills Wine Country Classic 1st Graton Road Race 2nd Criterium Stage 1st Canberra (Aus) World Cup 5th Overall, Canberra Women's Cycling Classic (Tour de Snowy) 1st Stage 6

2000 Set World Hour Record - 43.5 km (since broken) Olympic Games 4th Time Trial 4th Road Race Thuringen-Rundfahrt (2.9.1) - 6th overall Winner prologue and stage 1 1st OverallWomen's Challenge (2.9.1) 2nd Points Classification 3rd Mountains Classification 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 10 6th Overall, Tour de l'Aude (2.9.1) 1st Stage 6

2nd Australian National Time Trial Championships 1st Canberra (Aus) World Cup 3rd Overall, Tour de Snowy (2.9.1) 1st Points Classification 1st Stage 2 1st Stage 6 1st Stage 7

2001 1st UCI World Points Rankings 1st Overall, UCI Women's Road World Cup 7th Time Trial World Championships 1st GP des Nations Time Trial (1.9.1) 6th Tour de Suisse Féminin (2.9.1) 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 2 1st Stage 3 7th GP Suisse Féminin (Swi) World Cup 3rd Trophée International (Fra) World Cup Thüringen-Rundfahrt (2.9.1) 1st Prologue (Zeulenroda Time Trial, 6 km) 3rd Tour of Arlington (MA) 2nd Liberty Classic (USA) World Cup Tour de l'Aude (2.9.1) 3rd Points classification 1st Prologue 1st Stage 5 1st Stage 6 1st Xcelerate Twilight (Athens, GA) 2nd La Flèche Wallonne (Bel) World Cup 2nd BMC Software Criterium (Austin, TX) 1st Overall, Sea Otter Classic (2.9.2) 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 3 1st Stage 4 1st Hamilton City (NZl) World Cup 1st Canberra (Aus) World Cup 4th Overall, Tour de Snowy (2.9.1) 1st Points classification 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 2 1st Stage 3

2002 2nd Time Trial, Commonwealth Games