Dan Martin battles during a hellishly hard Liége-Bastogne-Liége. The Irish international said he ran out of gas for the final (Photo: Sirotti)
Dan Martin rode a textbook race for all but the final few kilometres of Sunday's snow-hit Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The Irishman finished 1:56 down on race winner Wout Poels after one of the most epic one-day races in recent memory.
In truly wretched conditions, the 29 year-old dropped off the back of a select group of riders who were preparing to wind things up for the last remaining ramps – territory Martin has excelled on in recent years.
His Etixx–Quick-Step squad took control of the race inside the final 20 kilometres in an effort to set him or Julian Alaphilippe up for victory.
Things were looking good from an Irish perspective until an attack by Carlos Betancur (Movistar) put Martin in difficulty and he would never recover.
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Martin on the climb of La Redoute, he would lose his edge in the business end of the race on what was a cold and long day for racing (Photo: Sirotti)
“Honestly, I wouldn't change anything I did today,” said Martin after 6½ hours in the saddle.
“I just missed some power in the legs at the finish, as the cold took its toll on me.
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“It was important to keep believing you'll feature in the final, which I did, but in the end this wasn't enough.
"All of the sudden my legs stopped working and I had no more power left, so I got dropped,” he added.
The race was came down to a four-up sprint between Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Wout Poels (Team Sky) and Samuel Sanchez (BMC).
That quartet broke clear of the main group on the final climb and came to the line together.
Albasini looked a likely winner as he rode hard on the front to get the gap but it was Poels who surprised everyone with his sprint.
He took victory with a bike length to spare on the Swiss rider, while Rui Costa rounded out the podium.
Another 'I was there' day for the palmares. At least we got some cool photos out of it #LBL
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) April 24, 2016
Wouldn't do anything different today. Team rode fantastic. Did everything I could from eating and drinking to right clothing.
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) April 24, 2016
Just ran out of legs. Thank you to our young @Etixx_QuickStep boys. We've learnt so much this week and will be back stronger #WayToRide — Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) April 24, 2016
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