Dream Team: Dan Martin and Garmin-Sharp rode a fantastic race to bring home the bacon in some style over the past week
By Brian Canty
Daniel Martin has ridden a masterful final stage in the Volta a Catalunya after a tough week to take the overall win in a race he has finished second in twice.
The Irishman took a 17-second lead over Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) into the lumpy final stage around Montjuïc, Barcelona, today. And while the Spaniard took it to Martin on final of eight laps of today’s testing finishing loops, Martin was more than a match for him; simply marking Rodriguez closely and never looking in any danger of being distance.
With a small breakaway up the road surviving to fight it out for the spoils, Martin was comfortable in the knowledge that the maximum 10-second time bonus for the stage win was being mopped up by the escapees, ruling out any chance of his nearest rival perhaps getting a small gap on the last lap and the time bonus if he managed to win the stage.
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While that scenario was always unlikely, Martin had lost the 2011 Tour of Poland to Peter Sagan on time bonuses on the final stage and that outcome will not have been too far from his mind today.
Rodriguez put in a couple of good attacks today with 4km remaining, but with Martin literally not giving him an inch those moves were never going to bear any fruit.
Indeed, in the end it was Michele Scarponi (Lampre) who provided the only real scare for the former Irish national champion when he went clear in the winning escape. The Italian started the day in 5th at 55 seconds.
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However, when the breakaway looked like it might endanger Garmin-Sharp’s grip on the race with a couple of laps of the circuit remaining, their 2012 Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal went on the front and did some massive turns to keep the gap manageable.
When Daniel Moreno (Katusha) attacked up the third category climb on the last lap in a bid to soften up Martin and then team mate Rodriguez when after him, that action closed the gap to the leaders right down.
The depleted peloton then regrouped, with Martin safely tucked into it. And it crossed the line just 21 seconds after Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil) took the stage win from the four-man breakaway.
That gap was enough to lift Scarponi onto the podium at the expense of Nairo Alexander Quintana (Movistar), with Martin and last year’s world No 1 Rodriguez holding first and second place.
As well as the overall win, his first in a stage race since the 2010 Tour of Poland, Martin also took an epic stage win on the queen stage last Thursday, holding off the entire race as he climbed up to the summit finish having dropped everyone from the large early breakaway.
The only other Irish rider in the race, Nicolas Roche finished 13th today and was 47th overall.
Stage 7: El Vendrell - Barcelona () 122.2km
1. Thomas DE GENDT, Vacansoleil-DCM, 2:45:42
2. David LOPEZ GARCIA, Sky, same time
3. Robert KISERLOVSKI, RadioShack-Leopard, s.t.
4. Michele SCARPONI, Lampre-Merida, s.t.
5. Samuel DUMOULIN, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0:21
6. Julien SIMON, Sojasun, at 0:21
7. Manuele MORI, Lampre-Merida, at 0:21
8. Travis MEYER, Orica-GreenEdge, at 0:21
9. Gianluca BRAMBILLA, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, at 0:21
10. Jakob FUGLSANG, Astana, at 0:21
13. Nicolas ROCHE, Saxo-Tinkoff, at 0:21
42. Daniel MARTIN, Garmin-Sharp, at 0:21
Final General Classification
1. Daniel MARTIN, Garmin-Sharp, 29:02:25
2. Joaquin RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Katusha, at 0:17
3. Michele SCARPONI, Lampre-Merida, at 0:34
4. Nairo Alexander QUINTANA ROJAS, Movistar, at 0:45
5. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, at 0:54
6. Robert GESINK, Blanco, at 1:07
7. Przemyslaw NIEMIEC, Lampre-Merida, at 1:18
8. Thibaut PINOT, FDJ, at 1:26
9. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, Lotto-Belisol, at 1:28
10. Thomas DANIELSON, Garmin-Sharp, at 1:41
47. Nicolas ROCHE, Saxo-Tinkoff, at 19:00
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