Dan Martin took a good look around on the podium in Paris. He fought his way into the ceremony with a racing aggression that has won the respect of so many around the world.
Dan Martin among the greats of Tour de France 2018
As the Tour de France prepared for the final stage into Paris, former world champion and 22-time Tour stage winner Andre Darrigade climbed on board the UAE Team Emirates bus to wish Dan Martin well.
It was one of the greats from a bygone era reaching out to acknowledge a modern day rider who races like they did of old.
And that passion, of taking the fight to the opposition, propelled Martin onto the most famous podium in pro cycling in Paris on Sunday evening.
He had endured horrid luck on the Tour; a crash and a puncture resulting in time losses that compounded a poor team time trial.
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Super Combativity Prize #TDF2018 @DanMartin86
Fair play Dan!!!! ???♀️?♀️ #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/f7OnXqbZ6H— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) July 29, 2018
In the general classification he took repeated blows. Yet he still finished 8th overall. But his stage win atop the Mur de Bretagne on stage 6 was breathtaking.
And the way he rode on the short 65km stage 17 was similar; the Irish rider taking flight on the Col du Portet the moment the road kicked up towards the summit finish line.
He was beaten that day by Nairo Quintana. The Colombian born at altitude proved the only match for Dan Martin on one of the most exciting stages on an exceptional Tour.
Martin had to settle for 2nd on the day. But the mark of the man wasn't just in his ride on the final mountain.
After the stage he recalled watching the race from the roadside in the same region as a 12-year-old. He explained how it meant a great deal to him to challenge for victory on the same roads as a man.
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Of Quintana, Martin's verdict was simple; a deserving winner who was better than him on the day.
But the UAE Team Emirates climber said he still felt it was special to take 2nd on a stage where the best man won.
And in those words can be found the essence of Martin's approach to racing; embracing the hardest, highest risk, scenarios to test himself against the best simply to see how he fares.
He races his bike with passion because, for him, that's the kernel of the sport.
That his place on the podium today was secured via the most aggressive rider award was fitting. There are few other riders in the peloton who revel in all-out aggression like Dan Martin does.
Sometimes it doesn't work but many times it has. Two monument victories and three Grand Tour stage wins now sit among his impressive palmares; all secured by a willingness to have a go and having the legs to pull it off.
He emerges from this Tour with 8th and a stage win. And he has every right to believe he can come back and do better overall.
Whether he'll succeed, only time will tell. But what is certain is that he won't shirk from the hard work or shy away from risking it all when others hedge their bets.
Today into Paris he had added reason to be cheerful; joined on the podium by a team mate. Alexander Kristoff took the final stage on the Champs-Élysées.
And between them they have rescued what was rapidly becoming a difficult season for their team despite spending big in the transfer market during the winter.
Martin had already begun that rescue mission at Critérium du Dauphiné last month. He took 4th and a stage victory.
With his form on the up, and a Tour stage win secured with as impressive a kick as you'll ever see on a hard climb; this season may yet hold even bigger prizes for the fighting Irishman.
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