Irish rider climbed with the best and when he was tested he dug deep repeatedly
Dan Martin may not have won today’s stage at Volta a Catalunya, but he showed the grit of a true champion.
He was chasing the race leader’s jersey as well as a stage win and went very close to both; finishing 3rd on the day and now placed 4th overall.
The Irishman
finished in a group of five at the end of the 179km stage 3 to Vallter 2000;
surviving with them by digging in again and again.
Martin was with Colombians Egan Bernal (Team Sky), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Tirreno-Adriatico runner-up Adam Yates (Mitchelton Scott).
It's no insult to Martin to say that he lacked a little in the legs today compared to those he was with. But he made up for it with his sheer ability to suffer
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But as he was repeatedly dropped off the back of the group, he would then claw his way back again and again.
The last time he
regained contact was just before the leaders reached the 1km to go banner. And
as soon as they dipped inside that marker, Martin had a ging off the front of
the group.
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He was
overhauled, though led out the sprint from about 200 metres out. And while
Yates passed him to win and Bernal was 2nd, Martin took a terrific 3rd place on
the stage.
Quintana was next
in 4th place; the top four finishing on the same time and some two seconds
ahead of Lopez.
And the next man home was Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) 30 seconds down followed by Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha–Alpecin) 45 seconds back.
The opening stage winner – by over three minutes solo – and race leader this morning, Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) has retained his lead.
He lost the vast bulk of his advantage but he still has some 27 seconds in hand over Yates, now 2nd overall.
Bernal is next at 30 seconds and then comes Martin at 33 seconds, Quintana at 35 seconds and Lopez at 39 seconds with another climbing stage tomorrow.
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