Dan Martin chases back on after crashing. He got close to regaining contact but in the indeed was left to curse another spill in a season he insists is not over yet (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Brian Canty
In Ponferrada
Having gone into the World Championships hopeful of biding his time and making a bid for glory late in the day on a tough course he felt would have suited him in dry conditions; Dan Martin was left to curse the bad luck that saw him crash again.
Today, with just over two laps to go, the Irish team leader and real medal contender crashed on a downhill section in Ponferrada, clattering a barrier which effectively ended his race.
He would get up, and after a change of bike take off in pursuit of the bunch. But he never regained contact and eventually crossed the line eight minutes down in 84th.
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“At the top of the climb just before the downhill with a few laps to go some guy just switched right and went into the barriers and I had nowhere to go,” the Garmin-Sharp man explained.
“My bad luck continues; it’s the way it happens. I could have been badly hurt… it just took a scar off (my knee) from before.
“I went into the barriers so I got a bit banged up and a few bruises. And I also got a dead leg as well and I couldn’t get going,”
Martin tucks a few gels away for later before the start and before the heavens properly opened on the riders (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Refusing to let his chance go easily, he put in a furious chase. Initially he regained a lot of the time he had lost and held the group at about 30 seconds for 1½ laps, despite the fireworks that were starting to go off at the head of affairs.
“I was holding the gap, then they’d bring the cars through and then I’d almost get back,” he said of the chase that ultimately failed.
“I wasn’t having a great day anyway; I probably would have been in the same group as Nico. I didn’t have super legs to start with. I’m still tired from the Vuelta.
“I did quite a bit of training since then. I’m just tired mentally and physically from what has been a hard few weeks. But we were still there in the race to win today.
“It’s always great to ride with Nico; we were in the race to win and that’s how we rode. We’re a country now that waits for the final, but I didn’t get that far.
“It’s unfortunate I couldn’t get to show the jersey more but it’s bad luck again… hopefully all these crashes will add up to something in the future,” he said, optimistically as ever.
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Martin said for those laps when conditions were dry, the course worked really well. But it was very difficult to race it properly in the wet (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Crashes have been a theme of Martin’s year so far, with a nasty spill and broken collar bone in the Giro d’Italia ruling him out of that race and for a long stretch afterwards. He also saw a likely victory snatched from his grasp in Liege Bastogne Liege a month earlier.
Today’s course has been criticised for having some very dangerous sections but Martin felt relatively at ease.
“I think everyone was aware that right hander onto the bridge was dangerous so everyone took it easy,” he said.
“It’s a pro race and I don’t think there was anybody who slid out. Everyone knows what they’re doing and nobody’s taking risks. It was very controlled.
“It’s just unfortunate with the rain because it would have been a fantastic circuit in the dry. Those few laps when it did dry out; it was really flowing and really fast and a really good racing circuit.
“But in the rain it’s single-file the whole circuit. No one can race it; it’s a case of positioning as opposed to the strongest guys being at the front.
“I think we were unlucky with the rain but there was a worthy winner.”
Making his way up the climb in the early stages long before he was switched into the barriers and his hopes were ended (Photo: Sean Rowe)
He said he found it hard to believe the season was near an end and had gone by so quickly.
“I can’t believe it’s time for Lombardia again and back out to Beijing. This week now I must freshen up and recharge the batteries.
“I haven’t won a race this year yet. I’ve had a few near misses so I’d really like to win a race to finish off the season. But having said that, it’s still not been a bad year, I almost won Liege and Fleche Wallone.
“Considering the bad luck and crashes, it’s still not been a bad year. I got a top 10 in a Grand Tour. I think the thing about this year is I learned a lot about myself and I’ve learned how to come back from injuries.
“And that’s something I’ve never had to do before. Those setbacks definitely make you stronger; it’s been a big year in my life.
“It’s the way it is, I seem to be getting a reputation for crashing. But it was just wrong place wrong time again, it happens in cycling and you have to move on again.”
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