Having ridden poorly, by his own standards, in the Ardennes classics last year Dan Martin has opted to skip the first of three races in the series; Amstel Gold.
He will sit out that race tomorrow in favour of full
focus on La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday and Liège-Bastogne-Liège next weekend.
Martin is a potential winner of both races, though there
are a number of favourites going very well at present.
He has ridden Amstel Gold seven times and finished it
just twice. While the race is a very hard classic, it is not difficult in the
way that suits Dan Martin.
There is constant climbing on the course but not of the
kind that eliminates the bigger riders.
While the Irishman is the undisputed team leader for next
week’s two races, given his record in them, the UAE Team Emirates line-up in
his absence for Amstel Gold is a very strong one.
Advertisement
Rui Costa, Sergio Henao, Diego Ulissi and 20-year-old Tadej
Pogačar could achieve a result between them.
They are supported tomorrow by Manuele Mori, Simone Petilli
and Edward Ravasi. Pogačar has already excelled this year in winning Volta ao
Algarve.
And while the team insists the week ahead is a learning
experience for the neo pro, his performance tomorrow will be watched closely by
many.
Related News
But come next Wednesday and next Sunday it will be all
about Dan Martin. He has had a slightly quieter start to the season than in
recent years.
But rising up the standings to 2nd overall on the final
stage of the recent Tour of the Basque Country suggests he’s coming good at
exactly the right time.
He will go into the next week’s races as a proven performer
in both but perhaps under the radar considering some of the other favourites
have been more prolific of late.
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), for example,
could win either on La Flèche Wallonne or Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The Frenchman has eight wins to his name already this
year including Milan-Sanremo and Strade Bianchi.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is yet to hit the heights
but may well do in the Ardennes having won La Flèche Wallonne five times and Liège-Bastogne-Liège
four times.
Dan Martin has ridden extremely well in the Ardennes
classics during his career; winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège six years ago.
He was 2nd in 2017 and 5th in 2012. In 2014 he
looked set to win when he crashed on the final corner.
And in La Flèche Wallonne he has been in the top six five
times, though he’s yet to win it.
Two years ago he was 2nd in both
Liège–Bastogne–Liège and La Flèche Wallonne; beaten in both by Valverde.
Topics
