Dan Martin, far right, charges for the line with only Philippe Gilbert and Chris Froome able to scramble onto his wheel (Photo: Stefano Sirotti)
Any fears that Dan Martin’s form may not be as good as he believed before the Vuelta started were eased on stage 7 today when the Garmin-Sharp rider showed his teeth again in the run in to the finish.
The specialist climber took 6th place on the day after springing from the depleted peloton that was ultimately outfoxed by the day’s main breakaway on the 169km trek from Alhendín to Alcaudete.
Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) took a lone victory after he pulled away in a four man escape that dominated the day. With him were Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp), Hubert Dupont (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Johann Tschopp (IAM Cycling).
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They pulled out a lead of over seven minutes and while a chase was eventually organised back in the bunch with just under half of the stage remaining, the four up front still had four minutes with just 20km to go.
However, just a few kilometres up the road the stage took a strange twist when Hesjedal came down hard on a bend not long after Dupont had been distanced on a climb.
Tschopp and De Marchi were left out front looking a bit stunned and unsure whether to wait for the Canadian or plough on to the finish just 15kms away. However, after a moment’s hesitation De Marchi took the initiative and charged up the road on his own.
He went on to time trial his way to the win ahead of his three breakaway companions, who would regroup only to finish 1:35 down.
Alessandro De Marchi of Cannondale takes the stage victory after a crash helped split the four-man escape he spent much of the day in (Photo: Stefano Sirotti)
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As the much reduced bunch came up the drag to the finish line just over 40 seconds later, Martin attacked with 300 metres remaining.
Just as he had done when finishing second on stage 2, the explosiveness of Martin’s acceleration immediately put daylight between him and the rest. Former world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing) went after him and pipped him for 5th on the line.
Behind them, Chris Froome also reacted but could not quite get on terms, though was just one second down on Martin; a good showing after an earlier crash.
A further two seconds would elapse before the head of the bunch hit the line, with most of the overall contenders packed into the first 10 in the group such was the difficulty of the finish after another long and hot stage.
And while Martin’s time gain was only tiny, it at least demonstrated that he looks in great condition; such a strong kick after four hours in the saddle supporting his contention that he lost one minute on the final climb yesterday only because he overheated.
Philip Deignan (Team Sky) came home 3:12 down today and is now 69th at 23:32. Martin is 17th overall, some 1:34 behind race leader Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), and is also 4th in the points classification.
Tomorrow’s stage 8 is a 207km run from Baeza to Albacete and will favour the sprinters.
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