David Millar's Tour of Benelux shoes

David Millar's Tour of Benelux shoes

Millar’s final season commemorated with special shoe designs in aid of charity

Paul Smith / Fizik

Published: August 12, 2014 at 9:30 am

David Millar retires from professional cycling at the end of 2014 and throughout the season, the stylish Scot has been wearing unique Fizik shoes, custom designed for each race.

The project, titled ‘An Eloquence of Movement’, culminates in the shoes being auctioned in aid of the Small Steps Project, a UK charity that provides aid – including footwear – and support to children and their families living on municipal rubbish dumps around the world.

We’ve already shown you Millar’s shoes from the Challenge Mallorca, het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Tirreno-Adriatico, but here is a closer look at his national championship, Tour of Flanders, Commonwealth Games and a special Paul Smith design for the Tour of Benelux.

Millar's 2007 national road race victory is immortalised by these patriotic shoes: - Fizik

The white, blue and red British championships design commemorates Millar’s 2007 national road race title, which he was determined to win post-ban. The shoe is detailed with with post-race interview quotes

The tour of flanders shoes feature the country's lion symbol on the toebox: - Fizik

A bright yellow and black design celebrates the Tour of Flanders, featuring a bar-graph route profile on the instep and the Belgian red, yellow and black on the sole

The commonwealth games shoe is inspired by one of scotland's great designers, charles rennie mackintosh: - Fizik

With the 2014 Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow, Millar had a Charles Rennie Mackintosh-inspired design created – white with purple detailing and black geometric shapes

Now for the Eneco Tour of Benelux, which began in the Netherlands yesterday, Paul Smith – the renowned designer and friend of Millar – has created a beautiful bespoke addition to the collection.

Handmade in Italy, the shoe features two leather grades – one smooth, one perforated – giving a look that harks back to classical designs from the early era of cycling.

The perforated leather gives a classic look: - Paul Smith / Fizik

Paul Smith's stylish design has some beautiful touches including his gold-embossed signature

The shoe’s lining is printed with an Adonis blue butterfly, a protected species found on Box Hill in Surrey, where Millar has often raced including in the 2012 Olympics.

This blue shading is also featured on the carbon sole – and Smith has even included a good luck message in his own handwriting on one of the Velcro straps.

Check out the gallery for a more detailed view of the Paul Smith shoes, and visit the Small Steps Project for more information about Millar’s chosen charity.