Dan Martin explains what happened to him when Giro stage 11 hit gravel sections

Dan Martin drives the chasing group forward on the gravel but said he was caught out by his rival's aggression so early in the “Strade Bianche” second half of the stage. He was distanced by a considerable margin and was even forced into a chase to get back to the second bunch on the road (Photo: Cor Vos)

Dan Martin has said he was too relaxed and lost his focus for a while on today’s epic Giro stage before being caught on the wrong side of the splits in the field. He was distanced from the other big names very early in the final 70km of the race that contained all of the gravel sections.

He was in the second large bunch on the road for a long time that was chasing the first bunch – containing race leader Egan Bernal and all of other favourites. However, he was initially even further back for a period after the stage entered the “Strade Bianche” second half.

The 34-year-old Irishman, riding for Israel Start-Up Nation, found himself off the back of the second bunch for a time and was forced into a chase to catch it. Once he and his team mates got back into that group, Martin then did a lot of work on the front of it and they almost caught the Bernal group.

Egan Bernal thrived on the gravel, proving unafraid to take up the driving on the front when Remco Evenepoel was yoyoing off the back. Later in the race, after Bernal and his team had beaten the group into submission, the race leader pressed even more and gained time on everyone. He was served especially well today by Filippo Ganna and Gianni Moscon (Photo: Fabio Ferrari)

Martin’s problems stemmed from the fact he was
effectively caught out by how aggressively some of his GC rivals attacked the
first gravel section. Ineos Grenadiers rode it very hard, with Filippo Ganna in
particular putting in some huge turns and Bernal, a former mountain biker,
thriving on the gravel.

“Personally, I was a bit too relaxed,” Dan Martin said of
that part of the stage approaching, and into, the first gravel sections. “Everyone
was battling for positions; I got a few pushes and lost my head for a while.

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“My teammates did amazing by bringing me back to the
second peloton. From there we nearly bridged the gap to the front.”

The only silver lining, if it could be called that, is that Martin will now get leeway to go for stage wins. And given the form he is in, he will now be highly fancied to take a stage to add to the victories he has already taken at La Vuelta and the Tour de France.

Remco Evenepoel could be seen drifting off the back on the gravel, especially descending - something that has been a concern for him before. He also panicked several times and closed the gaps himself. Once Bernal and his team saw the Belgian's vulnerability they went in for the kill (Photo: Fabio Ferrari)

For a prolonged period today Martin was less than two
minutes off the Bernal group before it split to pieces. But the Irish climber,
not suited to the gravel, was unable to close the gap.

In the end he lost 6:14 to Bernal and even lost two
minutes to some of those riders who were in the Bernal group but got dropped from
it inside the final 15-20km.

Martin was 8th overall this morning before the stage and
just 52 seconds down on Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in the maglia rosa. Tonight
Martin is 18th overall and 7:06 down on Bernal.

The time loss ends Martin’s prospects of a place on the final podium; a placing he had genuine hopes of give his riding on the first hilly stages of the race and the fact he as 4th in La Vuelta last year.