Dan Martin takes his Critérium du Dauphiné win last year. The Irish cyclist goes into this year's race looking to test his condition and get some results.
A star performer in stage races as his career has progressed, Dan Martin has said he is looking forward to getting stuck in at Critérium du Dauphiné.
The eight-stage race begins on Sunday and Martin will use it
as a tune-up for the Tour de France.
That involves getting his own performance up to the standard required and working closely with his team mates as a strong unit.
He will come up against formidable rivals in the shape of Chris Froome (Team Ineos), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo).
The stakes could not be any higher for the Irishman in the next couple of months.
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He has been 9th, 6th and 8th in the Tour in the last three months and is aiming for a podium finish.
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This year’s route is hilly and has very little time trialling,
meaning it is well suit to him; underlining the importance of Critérium du
Dauphiné to prepare.
Last year he won stage 5 of the week-long race and was 4th
overall. And he was 3rd overall in both 2016 and 2017.
“Dauphiné is a race I always enjoy. Racing on the French roads against a high level competition is the perfect preparation for the Tour de France,” he said.
“Training has gone well and I feel good although I’m not sure on my expectations having not raced since Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
“So it is always an unknown how the first race back will go. The aim is to get a good weeks racing in the legs and to continue building towards July.
“I’ve performed well in the last few years at the race. So I am just aiming to enjoy the race and hope the legs are there to be aggressive at some point in the week”.
The 32-year-old goes into the race as clear leader of UAE
Team Emirates, which is on a high after a strong Giro.
In the team with Dan Martin is Rory Sutherland as well as Vegard
Stake Laengen, Cristian Muñoz, Simone Petilli, Edward Ravasi and Oliviero Troia.
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