Dan Martin says he has had a relaxed Vuelta preparation and while he will do his best to get results on what is a very hilly course, his main aim is to come out of the race in good condition for the World Road Race Championships in Florence next month.
By Brian Canty
Five weeks out from one of his biggest goals of the year and Dan Martin couldn’t be any more relaxed.
It’s a mark of the man’s confidence that he can enter the Vuelta a Espana, which starts on tomorrow, Saturday, without being near top form but he said he’ll be “relying on talent” to get him through the first week before his legs, hopefully, come around.
“I’m good now, I took it really easy since the Tour,” the Garmin-SHARP team leader explains.
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“There were 10 days when I was sick straight after the Tour so I had to recover and do a bit of training but not much serious stuff. It’s mainly just a bit of maintenance.”
“I haven’t behaved myself that much the last week either,” he laughs.
“Things have been very, very relaxed and I’m coming into the Vuelta quite fresh and hoping to get better as three weeks go on. The first couple of mountain stages I’m going to be a bit rusty, I mightn’t be able to get results in the first week or so. But hopefully I’ll come strong towards the end to come good for the Worlds.”
Martin, who turned 27 on Tuesday, said the difference between his Tour and Vuelta build-ups couldn’t be more stark.
“This year is the first year I’ll have done two Grand Tours in the one year so it’s a bit unknown how I will cope with that. Obviously I had a bit of fatigue after the Tour but we’ll take it day by day, that’s how I race best."
“I’m obviously very relaxed going into this. There’s nowhere near as much stress as the Tour involved but it’s the confidence I’ve got and that’s been the way right throughout the season so far.”
But he added: “There are a lot less climbers on the team we have (at the Vuelta) so that’s more about the relaxed atmosphere. We don’t have the strongest team here but we’ve got a strong enough team anyway.”
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“For the team time trial, it should be good and with Tyler (Farrar), we can try and get some sprint stage wins. It’s a good balanced team and I’m sure we’ll get the support we need.”
With 11 mountain finishes, he can’t ignore that chances will present themselves for what would be a second Vuelta stage win.
“Yeah obviously, there are good opportunities to try and win a stage and that’s what I’m going to try and do. But we’ll have to see what way the legs are. We’ll see how it goes, I think I’ll be good but I haven’t killed myself on any climbs in Girona, I haven’t really tested myself. So Who knows?”
The Worlds in Florence next month are looming, and though he knows he must just focus on the immediate challenge of the Vuelta, he can’t help but dream of winning the World road title.
“I’ve been thinking about it since the start of the year and that’s why I am on the start-line here in Spain. It’s five weeks away on Sunday. That still sounds like it’s a long way away but I’ve just got to get through this race and then it will be upon us.”
“I’ve worked with Cycling Ireland to make sure it will be as good as possible and that I can get the right conditions to get in a perfect position for us to be able to make it a special day. We’re going to do everything we can to try and be there in the best shape possible, then hopefully with a bit of luck, we can do something.”
“It’s nice too that there are so many guys that want to be there and who understand the potential that this Irish team has got. A four-person team is going to be good for us, but it’s not going to be an easy race.”
“It’s 270 kilometres and there aren’t many guys in Ireland who can cope with that kind of distance. I know it’s a hilly parcours and that suits me, but it’s more about the accumulated fatigue. I’m not going to change my preparation, I’m just here at the Vuelta to prepare for it and the week before the race we’ll sharpen the knives.”
