He may have crashed badly and been forced out of the Vuelta a Espana this week, but even before he took to the start line in the three week event, Dan Martin had had the season of his life.
He had brought accolades for Ireland not seen since the heady days of Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche.
His list of fantastic wins and strong rides to date in 2013 include a mountain stage victory and the final yellow jersey on the Volta a Catalunya and Ireland's first classics victory for over two decades when he danced his way into the history books taking Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
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The manner of his triumph there suggested he is among the very best classics riders in the world, and he is most likely just one winter away from being the undisputed best.
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But there is no race like the Tour de France, and his fine victory on stage 9 this year - coming after a characteristic old-school display of aggression and sheer climbing power - brought him to the attention of the non cycling public back in Ireland.
In this short documentary style series of interviews with the man himself and his team mates and manager at Garmin-Sharp, we can listen to the analysis of that Tour de France stage win from the men who planned and executed it.
It was a “put-it-all-on-the-line” premeditated day of chaos and all out aggression by the men in blue, resulting in a terrific win for Martin.
He may be out for now, but this season is far from over, with the World Championships and Tour of Lombardy still to come if he can recover in time to make a full assault on those races.
In the meantime, enjoy this video. It's well worth a look.
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