Dan Martin and team mate Ryder Hesjedal at the first summit finish in the Volta a Catalunya last Wednesday
By Brian Canty
Dan Martin is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is the 2013 Volta a Catalunya champion – only the second Irishman after Sean Kelly to win the race. He said it’s been a crazy 24 hours and a week he’s unlikely to ever forget.
“Yeah it’s still quite hard to believe,” he said today.
“I keep looking at the trophy and picking it up and shaking my head. They kind of teased me all week because when they gave me the leader’s jersey (on Thursday) they gave me the final trophy too and it was like, ‘ah come on!’...as if to say: ’you might win this if you keep hold of that jersey’...but to actually get it in Barcelona yesterday against such a spectacular backdrop as well. It was such an amazing feeling, especially with such a crowd there as well.”
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Martin, though exhausted from the exertions of riding Tirreno-Adriatico and Catalunya in 20 days, still had the energy to describe what yesterday was like - defending a slender lead in the home nation of the crowd favourite, Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez.
“I started last Friday with a 10-second lead and made it up to 17, we didn’t really know what the circuit was like yesterday because Montjuic has a number of different routes up the climb and the one they did in the Vuelta last year is super steep. We’d heard it was going to be steep yesterday but one of my teammates called Purito and talked to him and he told him he wasn’t too optimistic about dropping me so that gave me an insight into how the climb was going to be.”
“Once I got onto the circuit I was a bit more confident but Katusha were attacking the hell out of us and it was so fast... one of the hardest day’s racing of the year so far. Katusha really rode a super aggressive race to put us under pressure and I was down to Ryder (Hesjedal) and Tom (Danielson) but having those two really strong teammates by my side really gave me confidence; and also the fact that it was nearly four kilometres from the top of the climb to the finish, on big roads (gave me confidence too) because it wasn’t just Purito trying to beat me. There was a whole load of guys trying to win the stage too. Once we got to the circuit I was feeling more confident and I was lucky enough to have really good legs yesterday as well.”
“I felt in control most of the day, I was never losing it. It’s always that anxiousness, that nerves...a mechanical, or a bit of bad luck like a crash..anything can happen so you’re always nervous. But yesterday morning I definitely felt the nerves and the pressure but once we got underway that turned to concentration to do my job and the relief when I crossed the finish line, it was brilliant.”
“It was always going to come down to that last lap so I was just focussed on Purito’s back wheel, I didn’t even try and go I just watched him, his cassette and what gear he was in. There was no way he was getting rid of me. Such a relief.”
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The 26-year-old told stickybottle in January that he believed he could beat the world’s elite if on form, and he backed it up with action over the last week; something that he’s immensely proud of.
“Christian Vande Velde called me Saturday night and said to me, ‘I saw from last Monday morning the spark in your eye’...he knew I was confident. I’m a real confidence rider and the team have really believed in me this year. That’s really helped my self-belief.”
“When I saw the start-list I was a bit surprised with the strength in depth of the field here, I wasn’t expecting to come out of the race with overall victory but having come so close to ProTour victories in the last couple of years and so many seconds, thirds, fourths, I haven’t won one since Poland (in 2010).”
“It’s amazing to start the year in such a fashion and also, I tweeted last year after the Tour, watching Brad win showed it was possible to win clean, and now I know, I know it’s possible and I’ve proved it’s possible to win clean. It’s a great feeling and I hope I inspire kids out there to pick up a bike and ride around.”
The nephew of former Tour de France winner, Martin is as passionate about Ireland as he is humble and he said he hopes he can help push cycling back into the public psyche for all the right reasons.
“Yeah definitely, I want to be able to do that and more. Especially at the moment, just after the Giro start next year in Ireland I hope it can give the sport an even bigger boost at home. I’ll be back home for the Cycle4Life charity spin in May so hopefully we can have a big crowd there. We have what it takes to become a force in international cycling. I’ll help the Federation in any way possible, so that we’re at a level where we can compete and win medals in every level and discipline and my win can be replicated by someone else in the future.”
What’s striking about Martin’s win is the feel-good vibes that have emanated from it and he’s conscious of that to. He’s proved a popular winner – unlike some in the past. But having half the peloton shake his hand the day after Thursday’s epic stage win was something he wasn’t prepared for he admitted.
“I really noticed it in the peloton the day after I won. The number of guys who came up and congratulated me and guys that I’ve never even spoke to before, I must have been congratulated by half the peloton. It was almost like the underdog winning, the popularity of our team as well in the peloton and of course being Irish also helped – we’re quite a popular nation most of the time!”
“But the reaction at home as well as here. I’m considered Catalan. I’ve had two front pages on newspapers here. Out training today I’m getting recognised all over the place and it’s kind of a weird feeling. I heard from Rory Wyley and Geoff Liffey in Cycling Ireland...it’s incredible to see the effect my win has had..the boost it’s going to give cycling at home, getting it in the headlines. That can only be a good thing and long may it continue.”
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