He was one of the favourites going into the stage but Ryan Mullen's TT effort was derailed shortly after the start. Over such a short distance, against such class, recovery was impossible. Dan Martin would lose a lot of time to his rivals.
Ryan Mullen TT derailed at Volta ao Algarve
Hoping to add another win to his 2018 palmares today, Irish champion Ryan Mullen was left disappointed at the Volta ao Algarve.
The 23-year-old suffered a puncture just 2km into the 20.km test. And with a classy field assembled in Portugal, coming back to score a win was always going to be impossible.
Hopes were high for Mullen as he had comprehensively won the 14km TT at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina last month.
Punctured after 2km today in the TT here in Algarve.
Very let down and deflated to say the least...— Ryan Mullen (@ryanmullen9) February 16, 2018
#VAlgarve2018 ?5...4...3...2...1 @DanMartin86 is off ! GO Dan !#UAETeamEmirates ? pic.twitter.com/v86pkTtzdX
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamUAEAbuDhabi) February 16, 2018
But with his flat today he had to be content with 24th place. He finished 1:21 behind stage winner Geraint Thomas.
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The Team Sky man, who was last off as race leader, scorched around the course in 24:09; that’s 50.435km per hour.
He beat European champion Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal) by 11 seconds. Stefan Küng (BMC) was next a further eight seconds back.
And in 4th place came stage winner from yesterday; Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski some 22 seconds down.
Geraint Thomas brought the yellow jersey into the TT stage and comes out of it with a bigger lead. He looks like he will take some beating this weekend.
After claiming 4th place yesterday and finishing in the front group of five on the summit finish, Dan Martin performed poorly today.
The UAE Team Emirates man could only manage 46th place. He lost 2:03 to Thomas and is now 16th overall at 2:03.
Thomas leads with two stages remaining by 22 seconds from Kwiatkowski. And Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) is 3rd at 32 seconds.
Tomorrow’s stage 4 is 199.2km into Tavira and should suit the sprinters or a breakaway. The race concludes on Sunday with a short sharp uphill finish.
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