Dan Martin will start the 110th Il Lombardia as one of the strongest of favourites and cousin Nicolas Roche believes he can be right up there again when they key selections are made.
By Brian Canty
Dan Martin is aiming to emulate one of the moments of his career today when he starts the 110th Il Lombardia as one of the pre-race favourites.
The Etixx-QuickStep man is part of a very solid eight-man line-up for an event known as the 'race of the falling leaves' and it’s one of the five Monuments he’s historically performed best at.
In 2014 he was crowned the champion after one of the most exciting battles in recent memory while three years before that (2011) only Olivier Zaugg had the measure of him.
In 2013 he was just off the podium in fourth.
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Alongside fellow firecrackers Julian Alaphilipe and Gianluca Brambilla, Etixx-QuickStep have three of the strongest riders for a course like tomorrow.
The 240-kilometre track features some monstrous climbs g as well as a fast run-in to the finish.
And with defending champion Vincenzo Nibali not riding, Alberto Contador out with sickness and two-time winner Joaquim Rodriguez looking just a tad over the hill it could be a day for Martin once more.
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And his cousin Nicolas Roche seems to think so too.
The Team Sky rider will wear the distinctive black and blue colours for one of the final times today (in a competitive race) before he switches to BMC Racing Team for 2017.
He hasn’t done a road race since the Tour of Britain but instead, has done work on his time-trialling in advance of the UCI World Championships.
He finished a very strong 8th at the European Championships recently and told stickybottle from his team’s base that he’s in reasonable shape.
“I’m feeling okay, I think,” he said in advance of today's contest.
Having finished 16th - some 27 seconds behind the winner - in 2011 is reason enough to assume he can go okay on a course like this, despite a DNF in his last outing in 2013.
“I’m not sure, I’ll do my best. Maybe the distance will catch me out as I haven’t raced that far in a while but I’ll try.
"And I’m feeling okay in training. Also, my last races went okay.”
In terms of favourites, the reigning national road and time trial champion is rarely far of the mark and he’s tipping Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac), Miguel-Angel Lopez (Astana), Esteban Chavez (Orica-BikeExchange) and of course, a certain Dan Martin.
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