Dan Martin chasing result on Algarve climbs against top Team Ineos trio | Sticky Bottle

*Dan Martin will face a stronger field in Portugal than his first race of the season in Spain but he looks like he is in good form and is going back to a race where he has won in the past*

Having shown good early season climbing form already, Dan Martin is going into tomorrow’s Volta ao Algarve chasing a result.

The Irish rider won a stage in the race in 2017 atop Alto da Fóia on the second day of action when riding for Quick-Step Floors.

He finished 6th overall after that victory and was 4th on
a stage the following season.

So far this year he has ridden one race, Volta a la
Comunitat Valenciana, taking 4th on the two climbers’ stages and 4th overall.

He looked very strong on the penultimate day when he and Wout Poels (Bahrain McLaren) were strongest of the chasers in pursuit of Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates).

While Pogačar was too good for his rivals on the 5km climb to the finish at Altea-Sierra de Bernia, Martin took it up behind him and went closest to catching the lone leader.

*Evenepoel has already won Vuelta a San Juan this season and will immediately want more success*

*Geraint Thomas said he is lighter and strong that this time last year ahead of his 2020 debut in Portugal in what is a very strong Team Ineos selection that should have its say*

It was perhaps the best form Martin has shown on the climbs since his 2018 Tour de France stage win on Mur de Bretagne. And he will be looking to keep his run going in Portugal.

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The race gets underway tomorrow with a stage for the fast men in the field before summit finishes on stages 2 and 4 to Alto da Fóia and Malhão respectively.

The action concludes on Sunday with a relatively flat and technical 20km TT, where Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) can ride well.

There is strength in depth in the field when it comes to climbing, with Geraint Thomas, Michał Kwiatkowski and Rohan Dennis lining out in a formidable Team Ineos selection.

Miguel Ángel López and Luis León Sánchez will race in Portugal with Astana while Trek-Segafredo has Vincenzo Nibali and Bauke Mollema in action.

Deceuninck-QuickStep's Remco Evenepoel is another one to watch; the combination of shorter climbs and a TT set to suit him.

It will also be interesting to see what kind of form Alpecin-Fenix's Mathieu van der Poel is in on the road.

“We have the same Algarve as every year: two sprints, two
uphill finishes and one ITT. What is new this year is that the ITT is on the last day,” said Dan Martin’s Israel Start-Up
directeur Dirk Demol.

“We will
go with Dan Martin for a good GC and Cimolai will be our sprinter. Most of our
riders are here to prepare for the Classics. We have a good strong team at the start and will look day to
day.”