Dan Martin has said he is glad he rode last weekend's Tour de l'Ain in France as returning to racing had proven a shock to the system after the long lay-off due to Covid19.
While Martin did not perform well on the first of the two mountain stages last weekend, he rode much better on Sunday's final stage and was in the select group until it split just before the finish.
Today at Critérium du Dauphiné he finished in the reduced peloton of less that 60 riders after 218km of racing.
And while it appeared he was about to attack on the final climb about 1.5km from the finish, the front of the bunch swerved over to his side of the road and blocked his path.
In end he had to be content with 25th place, on the same time as stage winner Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) but the Israel Start-Up Nation rider said he felt much better as the stage progressed.
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“It was a tough stage. Really fast pace all day, and it was good to find the race rhythm in a WorldTour race again,” he said.
“We stayed pretty relaxed until the last 40km and then rode together in a good position,” Martin added of his team mates.
“I was looking to try something at the top of the last
climb but it was tricky with how the group was moving; then, we tried to
position for the sprint.
“I got into Daryl Impey’s wheel with 1k to go but lost him in the downhill, and then we just wanted to stay with the other GC guys. I’m happy as legs weren’t the best today, but I came good in the end."
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