Crushed just moments after finishing Liége-Bastogne-Liége, But Dan Martin is bullish ahead of the Giro, where targeting the overall will hopefully follow on from winning in the mountains, adding a Giro stage to his victories at the Vuelta and Tour.
With Dan Martin’s Garmin-Sharp team having won the team time trial stage 4 of the Giro in 2012 and Philip Deignan’s Team Sky having prevailed in the Giro stage 2 team test last year, some Irish cycling fans are nursing hopes that history could repeat in Belfast next Friday evening.
If either squad, or indeed Nicolas Roche’s Tinkoff-Saxo, won the city centre race against the watch and the Irish man in the winning line-up was allowed cross the finish line first on Irish soil, he would go into the iconic maglia rosa of leader.
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Based on the firepower in the teams it is not an impossible scenario.
However, Dan Martin has said he believes the bigger plans for mountain stage and overall results will take precedent and all but rule out any of the three Irish men leading the race during the three stages here next weekend.
He told The Irish Times that his squad’s selection is tilted towards climbers’, while other teams have opted for those more powerful on the flat, specifically with a view to trying for the team time trial win.
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“Because we are aiming for a strong general classification, we have got a very all round team with some climbers to help me in the mountains," he said.
“In contrast, I know both the QuickStep and GreenEDGE teams are solely aiming of the team time trial and will select specialists for that.”
He added Team Sky and Tinkoff-Saxo are in the same position, meaning while it would not be impossible to see one of the three Irish in the leader’s jersey in Ireland, getting hold of it - especially with two flat stages to follow the TTT - would be “very, very difficult”.
However, Martin told journalist Shane Stokes in a feature length interview in today’s paper he believes Giro fever is sweeping the nation with the race just days away. He says not having the jersey will likely have no real impact on the race’s visit to Ireland.
“Even though it would be fantastic to wear the pink jersey in Ireland, I think the fact the race is just starting there should catch the public’s imagination.
“I think the whole country will be following me and Nicolas and Philip all the way to the finish.”
Martin also said he is over the disappointment of crashing on the last corner of Liége-Bastogne-Liége. He felt he would at the very least have been on the podium. But winning it last year and also emerging from the crash with no Giro-derailing broken bones has helped him move on mentally.
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