Dan Martin believes he’s back on track after some early season illness and is ready to start in Italy tomorrow
Ireland's Dan Martin is over the illness that curtailed his racing programme last month, and said he is "dying to go" as he lines up in the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico stage race starting in Italy tomorrow, Wednesday.
The former national champion forms part of a star-studded Garmin-Sharp team for the seven-day event which will prove crucial in his build-up to the Ardennes Classics as well as July's Tour de France.
Martin was struck down by a viral infection last month during the Tour of the Med which, along with having their bikes stolen, forced him and his team to retire from the race. But he's recovered now and only focussed on the week ahead.
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"I feel pretty good actually," he enthused.
"I had about a week off training after the Med but I've felt really good since then. I did a really good 10-day training camp in Girona and we (the team) smashed the s*** out of each other. And I think we're definitely ready for this week. I think it's going to be an interesting test.”
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"Obviously with only one day of racing this year, compared to a lot of the other guys coming out of Oman it's going to be difficult to be right in the front. But it's going to be an interesting test to see where I am early in the season. I feel really good and the sensations are great and the way I sit on the bike and the way I'm pedalling; I feel as good, if not better, than at any point last year. My body is definitely 100 per cent."
Tirreno is a race he's never done before and with some of the world's top names convening on San Vincenzo for tomorrow's Grand Depart, he knows it won't be easy.
"The best riders in the world have chosen Tirreno over Paris-Nice this year so it's going to be really tough. The difference between here and Paris Nice is there's very defined climber and sprinter stages. So it's a matter of staying out of trouble on those sprint stages.”
“We've got a really strong sprint team though with Tyler (Farrar) so hopefully I can (latch) on to the sprint train and keep out of trouble. Then on the climbing stages (I will) test the legs and see where we are. But it's definitely a race that I can build on for the Ardennes Classics next month; two really long stages of 230-240 kilometres, that'll be good to get in the legs."
The riders face a team time trial tomorrow and an individual one next Tuesday on the final day. And Martin is keen to see how they perform, given the time-trials that pepper July's Tour de France.
"Obviously the goal will be to try and win a stage. We have Tyler for that and I think we have good condition but it's the time trial tomorrow. We've a really strong team for that so who knows? There are a couple of stronger teams than us at this stage of the season but we've done well, have trained well and we'll definitely give it a crack tomorrow and see how the week unfolds, be it riding for GC or going for stages. We've the potential to be in the top five or the top three if we've a really good day (in tomorrow’s TTT). We'll be pretty strong and I'm dying to go."
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