Dan Martin on his way to 4th at the Tour of Lombardy on Sunday; a result he said surprised him and that augers well for the Tour of Beijing starting tomorrow, Friday.
By Brian Canty
The 2013 UCI WorldTour may be drawing to a close this weekend with the five-day Tour of Beijing taking centre stage, but Ireland’s Dan Martin has said he is as motivated as ever to do well.
National Champion Matt Brammeier is also riding and having shown some very good form racing in Belgium in the past couple of months he will be looking to pull off a result in what will be one of his Champion System team’s last outings before it folds.
Garmin-SHARP rider Martin, who won the mountains jersey last year in Beijing and finished fourth overall, told stickybottle from China this afternoon the fact that it’s mid-October and the season’s almost over means the “big names count for nothing at this time of year”.
Indeed it’s a strong start-list for the race that starts tomorrow afternoon and concludes next Tuesday, but Martin says he is very hopeful of a good ride.
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“Big names on paper don’t mean anything at this time of the year. Surprises can happen. It’s mid-October. I’m going into it tired. It’s been a long year but it’s a race and I’m sure I’ll be as motivated as ever.”
Last Sunday, he was fourth in the Tour of Lombardy, a result that surprised him and gives him confidence ahead of the next five days.
“Form-wise I was surprised at Lombardia, I didn’t expect to be feeling so well,” he explained.
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“It’s been a long year though and definitely I am feeling it. So I’m putting no pressure on myself.”
Tony Martin has won the previous two editions of the race and he is down to start once again. But with no time trial and three difficult days in the mountains, it’s the Irish Martin, rather than the German one who is more likely to make his mark on the race.
“It’s not a normal race as everybody’s flown halfway around the world to be here,” said the Irishman.
“There are differing motivations and a bigger difference in fitness than would normally happen during the rest of the season. Obviously I’m hoping it comes down to the mountaintop finish on Sunday but it’s also a different type of racing here. The climb is 12 kilometres but only 5 per cent average with a max of 7 per cent so it will be really fast.”
It’s been a long year for the Tour de France stage winner with as many ups as downs and his preparation has been less than what he’d have liked.
Sunday’s 250-kilometre race in Italy was followed by a dash to the airport for an 11-hour flight to China, followed by a 6am wake-up call for dope control and five hours sleep. But he says “everyone is in the same boat”.
Asked if a win this week would make up for the disappointment of the World Championships he says: “I’m never disappointed. It’s a different race, there’s no point looking back. The crash happened, so whatever. What’s the point thinking about it? It won’t change anything.”
“The crashes and bad weather have made it tough this year and I’ve had a rough few months getting sick and crashing. But Lombardia, as I said, surprised me so hopefully we can finish the year on a high.”
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