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In the emotion immediately after a very disappointing stage for him, Dan Martin made some frank and unusual remarks about feeling that cycling was no longer worth taking risks for. The Israel Start-Up Nation leader on the Giro was not holding back.
We didn't publish these comments on the day as we had already published a reaction piece from him, and a stage report based around him, by the time this came to light. But because Martin is such a significant figure in Irish cycling, and also because there has been quite a bit of comment about this clip, we've decided to re-visit it.
Martin, now aged 34 years and a married father of twin girls, clearly looked emotional in the Eurosport interview below after stage 11 over the gravel. Very often comments from riders can be cliched and even dull, but there's none of that here.
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“Yeah, you know, I just…. I promised my wife this morning that I wouldn’t crash, you know. Cycling’s not worth… for me personally cycling’s not worth the risk," he said in an interview where he looked close to tears, but was also making no excuses.
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Martin continued: “There was guys, like, crashing all around me in the first section (of gravel). I just did my own pace and then I nearly came back… But my licence says ‘road cycling’. So (gravel) is not my thing. Fair play to the guys who were in the front, but I just didn’t want to take the risk today and that’s it.
“The cycling fan in me thinks it’s a beautiful stage… but I don’t have much experienced at that type of terrain. So, there’s no excuses, you know. I just didn’t feel like taking the risks.”
It's an insight into the roller coaster nature of the sport at times, especially on Grand Tours. Martin was riding like a strong final podium contender in the days leading into stage 11 but saw his GC chances evaporate within minutes as Ineos Grenadiers hit the first gravel section hard.
Martin - a four-time Grand Tour stage winner who has also won Il Lombardia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - had said in recent days he had no goals on the Giro this year. But he was 4th in the Vuelta last year and that made him a real contender in the Italian Grand Tour despite his comments playing down his chances.
And the disappointment of his stage 11 ride was very clear to see in this clip. Not only does he look emotional and disappointed, he also references his family. And perhaps the toll of being a father now, and being away for training camps followed by a Grand Tour, all caught up with him as he digested what was a big blow.
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