Dan Martin was in absolutely blistering form today, jumping clear of the main group in search of stage glory on day six of the Vuelta A Espana. The Cannondale-Garmin man was only beaten by Colombian Esteban Chaves of Orica GreenEDGE, who is also the new race leader.
By Brian Canty
Dan Martin has come very close to winning the sixth stage of the Vuelta A Espana today but had to settle for second on another punishing day in the saddle.
The Irishman, riding his last Grand Tour before departing Cannondale-Garmin, looked immense when he shot out of a rapidly-diminishing front group on the run-in to the finish at Sierra de Cazorla.
Martin went in pursuit of eventual stage winner Esteban Chaves (Orica GreenEDGE) after he had jumped clear inside three kilometres in a bid to take the race lead back from overnight leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant Alpecin).
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The diminutive Colombian screamed up the brutal ascent to the finish, where the gradient maxed out at 15.5 per cent, and reached a lung-bursting height of 930 metres after a 200-kilometre journey from Cordoba.
Dumoulin was first to leave the peloton in pursuit of Chaves and made a brave effort to bridge across while after him went Martin, with a couple of others trying to cling to his wheel.
Martin shook them off quite early though and hunted down the Dutchman who was himself making inroads on Chaves out front.
Nicolas Roche is on his best run of the season so far; the Tour de France clearly whipping up his form.
However, Dumoulin ran out of gas and Martin made the catch just before the line.
The Irishman nicked second, crossing the line just five seconds behind Chaves, who adds another victory to his stage 2 win.
The remainder of the bunch came in six seconds later, with Ruben Plaza of Lampre-Merida at the head of it.
Nicolas Roche of Team Sky was six places back in 10th, but in the same time.
The result means Martin switches places with his cousin Roche on general classification; both riders having been in really aggressive form thus far.
They are now third and fourth overall at 33 and 36 seconds, respectively. Chaves continues his remarkable week by reclaiming the race leader’s red jersey he took after stage 2.
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He is now 10 seconds ahead of Dumoulin going into tomorrow’s seventh stage.
Chaves takes Orica GreeEDGE's third stage win of six and takes back the race leader's jersey (Photo: Sirotti)
It’s another day for the climbers and Dumoulin will be expected to concede further time, which could open the door for both Martin and Roche to both move inside the top three.
The 191-kilometre stage from Jodar to the summit finish at La Apajurra features a category three climb around the halfway point which shouldn’t trouble the majority of the bunch but the same cannot be said for the finish.
The final 20 kilometres is a category one monster and is solid climbing, with just brief respite around the 10k to go mark.
The final two kilometres sees the mountain reach its steepest with a section of 14 per cent gradient and that will be the perfect launch pad for a stage-winning attack.
What's noticeable from the results so far - and hugely exciting from an Irish point of view - is that some of the top names, the likes of Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Fabio Aru (Astana), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) don't have the condition of Roche or Martin so far.
It's still very much early days in the race but Martin and Roche look superb and both could well challenge the race lead tomorrow.
Stage 6: Córdoba Sierra de Cazorla (200.3km)
1. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Green-Edge, in 4-46-16
2. Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin, at 5 secs
3. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, st
4. Ruben Plaza (Esp) Lampre-Merida, at 11 seconds
5. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar
6. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha
7. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
8. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar
10. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky, all same time
General Classification
1. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-Green-Edge, in 21-55-13
2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, at 10s
3. Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin, at 33s
4. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky, at 36s
5. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 49s
6. Daniel Moreno (Esp) Katusha, at 51s
7. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 55s
8. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha, at 56s
9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 57s
10. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 1-08
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