Dan Martin & Nicolas Roche forced to dig deep as Sky blows Tour apart in Pyrenees

Dan Martin was dropped from the lead group on the final climb, but his time loss may bolster his chances of a stage win later in the race.

By Gavin McLoughlin

Ireland’s Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche were among the victims as Team Sky annihilated the competition on stage 8 of the Tour de France today, Saturday.

Chris Froome was an imperious victor atop the summit of the Ax-3 Domaines climb, and the Briton now holds a sizeable race lead of 51 seconds over teammate Richie Porte.

The Irish duo were distanced on the lower slopes of the crucial climb, with Martin eventually finishing 15thon the day, 2:34 behind Froome, and Roche arriving in 23rd, 4:04 behind the Team Sky leader.

Garmin-Sharp’s Martin worked hard to limit his losses but the Irishman will be disappointed to have lost quite so much time on the race lead.

However, with his prospects of overall glory now significantly diminished, Martin will have more freedom to go hunting for stage wins. He will begin tomorrow in 13thoverall, 2:48 behind the yellow jersey but is expected to improve on that.

Saxo-Tinkoff’s Roche turned in a fearless descent to re-establish contact with the group of favourites after being distanced near the top of the day’s penultimate ascent. But he could not live with Sky’s pace when the road curved upward again.

The Irishman’s team-leader Alberto Contador lost a remarkable 1:45 to Froome today, and it will require quite an effort from Roche and the rest of the Spaniard’s lieutenants if Contador is to mount a serious challenge for the yellow jersey.

Despite their powerful showing in last year’s Tour de France, the sheer magnitude of Sky’s dominance will shock many.

There was much anticipation ahead of today’s stage as finally the overall favourites would do battle in the mountains. The 195 kilometre leg began in Castres but all eyes were on the back end of the course, which would see the riders ascend the hors-categorie Col de Pailhères before finishing atop the first-category Ax-3 Domaines climb.

Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM), Christophe Riblon (AG2R-La Mondiale), Rudy Molard (Cofidis) and Jean-Marc Marino (Sojasun) formed the early breakaway but this quartet was never allowed to establish a significant advantage.

Roche’s Saxo-Tinkoff squad and the ominous Team Sky train were prominent in chase as the first mountain approached. With the peloton breathing down their necks, the escapees began to attack each other. Riblon was the stage winner the last time the race finished at Ax-3 Domaines, and he again looked to be in excellent condition as he distanced his companions and continued up the Col de Pailhèresalone.

Behind, Martin’s bobbing shoulders appeared near the front of the peloton and the Irishman was looking composed.

Robert Gesink (BelkinProcycling) launched a long-range attack with 40 kilometres remaining, and the Dutchman’s move was soon emulated by the eccentric Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).

Roche and Martin rode alongside each other in a rapidly-thinning group of favourites, as the Belarusian strongman Vasil Kiryienka headed the Sky train at the front.

The talented climber Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was the next to dart away from the bunch and almost instantly the Colombian had caught and passed Voeckler. The Frenchman had blown completely but managed to pull a few faces for the cameras before bowing out of the action.

Also in trouble at this point was overnight race leader Daryl Impey (Orica-Green Edge). The South African fought valiantly but was unable to stop the yellow jersey sliding out of his grasp.

Quintana looked super strong as now he breezed past Gesink and joined forces with lone leader Riblon. But the alliance was short lived as the Movistar man quickly danced away alone.

Pierre Rolland (Europcar) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) struck out from the peloton in quick succession and still the Irishmen remained in the group of favourites.

But Roche was suffering and he was dropped with about 2 kilometres left to the summit. Quintana scaled the mountain alone and began the descent into the valley.

The group of favourites followed one minute later, with Martin still present and correct. Roche fought desperately to get back on and he fearlessly charged past a nervous Thibaut Pinot (Française des Jeux) with the road plunging downward. Anton’s move had been unsuccessful but Rolland had eluded capture and he was gaining on Quintana.

Behind, young Peter Kennaugh led the Team Sky charge and the men in black and blue were eating into the escapees’ advantage, which made Roche’s descent all the more impressive as the Irishman somehow managed to re-establish contact with the favourites’ group.

The road flattened out briefly at the bottom of the descent and Rolland briefly made contact with Quintana, but the final climb came quickly and the Frenchman was distanced almost immediately.

Kennaugh was still on the front for Sky when the group of favourites arrived on the final slope and before long their pace was too hot to
handle. Roche and Martin were again alongside each other but now they were at the back of the group and you feared it would not be long before the Irish duo was distanced.

Surely paying for his earlier efforts, Roche was the first to go. And soon Martin was also dropped.

The Garmin-Sharp climber pressed manfully on with 2011 overall winner Cadel Evans (BMC) and teammate Andrew Talansky for company, but this was not to be his day.

Up front, Richie Porte took over for Sky and absolutely blew the remainder of the group to pieces after a sustained effort that man everyone look very ordinary save for team mate Froome and doping comeback man Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

Prior to the race, Contador was seen as the British team’s greatest threat but on this day he was nowhere near their level. Porte and Froome reeled in Quintana and soon Froome came through to reveal his astonishingly powerful hand. Within seconds it was clear that the stage was over as he dropped Quintana like a stone and charged off up the mountain to take a facile win.

Porte continued with the Colombian for a time but he too would leave Quintana behind – the Tasmanian summoning the power to ride away from what was left of the best in the race after softening them all up for Froome on the early slopes.

The Australian eventually arrived 51 seconds behind his team leader, with Valverde arriving home in third, 1:08 behind Froome.