Dan Martin said today was his first goal of a season that "hasn't exactly gone to plan so far" and that he looks forward to trying to defend Liège–Bastogne–Liège on Sunday and after that the Giro next month. Seen here on the podium at Flèche Wallonne today with winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Polish champion Michael Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma Quickstep)
Dan Martin has said he knew he was on for a very good performance in today’s Flèche Wallonne after he hit the Mur de Huy climb for the first time and felt comfortable, despite gradients of up to 25 per cent.
“I knew I was feeling really, really well but obviously racing is different to training,” the runner up said of his recent preparations at altitude for what is now one of the key periods in his season.
Advertisement
“And obviously the Giro is just two weeks away so it’s a nice confidence boost to know I’m in the right place.”
He pulled out of Sunday’s Amstel Gold as a precautionary approach to what he called a niggle in his right knee that first reared its head at the Volta a Catalunya at the end of March.
And having failed to fire on all cylinders at any point since the 2014 campaign began, he sounded relieved after today’s second placed ride to Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
“The year hasn’t exactly gone to plan so far, but at the same time today was the first I was really looking to do well in. And that’s why I was really happy to get a podium in my first really objective of the year. Obviously it shows that I’m well on track.
Related News
“I knew I was on a good day because every year when you first hit the climb; really you’ve forgotten how steep it is. But this year when I hit it I didn’t feel so bad so I kinda knew it was a good day.
“It’s an incredibly steep climb. It’s 25 per cent in some places. It’s basically a drag race and whoever has the most horsepower wins.
“Valverde was that little bit strong than me today, but it’s fantastic to get second and it shows for Sunday I’m in really good form.”
With a podium place now in the bag and his mind at rest that he is exactly where he needs to be for the Giro, his immediate goal is the defence of his Liège–Bastogne–Liège title on Sunday.
So after today’s ride is he confident of defending the title?
“It’s hard to be confident for Liege,” he laughed.
“It’s all the best riders in the world in arguably their best form of the year. And a lot can happen over seven hours of racing.
“For sure, I’m hoping we can do something good. We’ve got an incredibly strong team here; we’re having such fun in the team. We’ve got a young bunch of guys and we’re enjoying our racing.
“Obviously with my team mate (Tom Jelte Slagter) getting 5th as well today we’re going into the race with a big boost of confidence. We’ll be looking to animate the race in the final.”
Topics
