Martin forces race leader Wiggins to dig deep in Britain; Hawkins & Downey also aggressive

Ireland's Dan Martin and race leader Bradley Wiggins have a natter before hostilities commence (Photo: Larry Hickmott - VeloUK)

By Gavin McLoughlin

Dan Martin continues to display an aggressive attitude at the Tour of Britain, with the Garmin-Sharp climber on the attack again on stage 4 today, Wednesday.

A day after his unfortunate compatriot Philip Deignan was forced to abandon, Martin danced away from the peloton on the stage’s final climb, the third-category Pen-y-Pass which peaked nine kilometres from the finish line in Llanberis.

Race leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky) was forced to dig deep to keep the Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner in his sights, but ultimately the ascent was not difficult enough for a rider of Martin’s characteristics to stay away.

And with the Irishman’s teammate Jack Bauer surging clear soon after Martin was re-absorbed, it seemed that the move had been designed to soften the field in order to give the fourth-placed New Zealander a chance to take some time.

Bauer was unsuccessful, however, as the stage would conclude with a bunch sprint in which Carrick-on-Suir man Sam Bennett bagged tenth place.

British champion Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) was the victor on the day, while Martin, Peter Hawkins and Sean Downey finished safely in the bunch.

The early escape group on this 188-kilometre run from Stoke-on-Trent to Llanberis consisted of 11 men, including Aaron Gate (An Post-Chainreaction), Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling) and Angel Madrazo (Movistar).

After these riders got away, the race settled into a familiar pattern, with the Sky team of race leader Bradley Wiggins doing the police work on the front of the peloton.

Madrazo began the morning as the leader of the mountains classification, just 2 points ahead of the An Post man Downey. The Spaniard’s presence in today’s break allowed him to extend his lead in that competition, while Downey’s absence meant he would fall to fourth.

But there was ample consolation for Downey’s squad as the Irishman’s teammate Gate was able to re-take the intermediate sprints jersey in the course of his time out front.

Downey was among the early aggressors, trying to get in the moves alongside fellow Irishman Peter Hawkins (IG Sigma Sport)

The final climb started with 11 kilometres to go and still the breakaway men had a lead of 1:40. Ian Stannard was taking an enormous pull on the front of the chasing pack, but it was Martin’s move that sparked the fiercest increase in pace.

With the bunch now strung out along the slope, the Irishman was pursued by Wiggins and Nairo Quintana. Martin could not escape and soon afterward his teammate Bauer would try his hand to no avail.

The attacks were coming in the breakaway group too, but the escapees would not be able to evade the clutches of their chasers.

NetApp-Endura were the ones to eventually bring the race back together, and none would be able to match Cavendish in what transpired to be a messy bunch sprint.

As the top three riders crossed the line, Martin’s teammate Steele Von Hoff somehow managed to keep his bike upright after Elia Viviani (Cannondale) veered violently in front of him.

Tomorrow’s mountainous leg will be more suitable for a Martin attack, encapsulating as it does four first-category climbs in the course of a 177-kilometre ride from Machynlleth to Caerphilly.

The final two ascents are of Caerphilly Mountain, with the last peaking above a 5-kilometre descent to the finish line.

The critical part of the route is relatively similar to the profile of the stage Martin won in the Tour de France, and after the way he has approached this race tactically it would be a surprise if the Irishman did not go for the victory tomorrow.

@gavmcloughlin