Roche (left) will be in his new colours tomorrow, while Martin remains with Garmin-Sharp
By Graham Healy
Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Dan Martin (Garmin Sharp) are due to kick start their seasons in the Tour of the Mediterranean which starts tomorrow, Wednesday.
It’s a race that Martin has performed well in previously, as he finished in 3rd place in 2009, less than a minute behind Luis León Sánchez.
Although Roche competed in the Criterium d’Aix en Provence on Sunday, the Tour of the Mediterranean will be his debut proper in Saxo Tinkoff’s colours, as last weekend’s event was more of an exhibition race.
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Amongst those he will line up alongside include former Sorrento CC rider Christopher Juul Jensen. The Dane has had a solid start to his second season, as he picked up the most aggressive rider award on one of the stages in the Tour Down Under.
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Dan Martin says that he has had a good winter’s training, and has recently been taking part in a Garmin training camp in Calpe. His cousin has also just finished a training camp on Gran Canaria with the members of the team who haven’t been competing in either Argentina or Australia. Following on from the Tour of the Mediterranean, Roche will line up in the Tour du Haut Var, and then will attend a training camp in Corsica, which will give him the opportunity to recce the opening stages of this year’s Tour de France.
Amongst other top names lining up tomorrow, are Andy Schleck (Radioshack) and Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar). The second stage of this year’s race could be a key factor in determining the overall winner as it consists of a 24-kilometre time-trial with a steep ramp to the finish at Mont Saint Clair.
However, the race probably won’t be decided until the fourth stage which is the annual summit finish on Mont Faron, the short but steep climb overlooking the Mediterranean.
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