The Angliru was first included in the Vuelta a España in 1999, and it was in 2002 when David Millar refused to finish the stage and got disqualified.
He threw his racing number on the floor just meters before the finish line screaming “We’re not animals and this is inhuman”
During the stage there was quite some rain and team cars got stalled on the steepest part of the Alto de l’Angliru. Not all the cars managed to restart because their tires slipped on messages painted by fans. Riders get caught behind these cars and others had to ride with flat tires because mechanics could not reach them. David Millar crashed that day three times, so it makes sense that this stage broke his limits.
