Dan Martin rode well in Italy today in his comeback race before Sunday's Tour of Lombardy, which he won last year (Photo: Sirotti)
By Brian Canty
Just over a month after the crash that ended his Vuelta A Espana prematurely Dan Martin was back in action today at the one-day Milan-Torino where he finished an impressive 14th place.
The Cannondale-Garmin man was 51 seconds behind winner Diego Rosa (Astana) who finished 16 seconds clear of Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo).
Vuelta winner Fabio Aru of Astana rounded out the podium for third a couple of seconds further back.
Traditionally seen as a key warm-up race for Sunday’s Tour of Lombardy, Martin produced a performance that bodes very well for his efforts to defend the Lombardy title he took last year.
He managed to stay with a rapidly diminishing front group as the road kicked up in the latter stages today.
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Indeed, the final five kilometres looked perfect for a man of Martin’s ability and on form it’s a finish he could do much better on.
Diego Rosa of Astana takes today's race ahead of Rafal Majka and Fabio Aru (Photo: Sirotti)
Running up to the line at Superga outside Torino, the slope had an average gradient of 9.1 per cent and a maximum of 14 per cent.
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So the fact the Irishman was still towards the front after the 196 kilometre race should give him confidence ahead of the final monument of the season.
He will also want to end his time – and his season - with his current team on a high note before he moves to Etixx-QuickStep in 2016.
Repeat successes at Lombardy are not a strange occurrence and in the past decade alone, Joaquim Rodriguez, Philippe Gilbert and Damiano Cunego have all won back-to-back crowns.
There’ll be less pressure on Martin to win, seeing as he’s missed so much racing in September.
But if he recovers from today’s effort, a man of his class is impossible to overlook.
The only other Irishman in today's race was Martin's teammate Ryan Mullen but he was listed as a non-finisher.
Thurs, Oct 1st: Milano-Torino (186km)
1. Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana in 4-27-51
2. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at 16 secs
3. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana at 18 secs
4. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ at 20 secs
5. Wouter Poles (Ned) Sky at 23 secs
6. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini at 32 secs
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r at 32 secs
8. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar at 32 secs
9. Daniel Moreno (Spa) Katusha at 36 secs
10. Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin at 39 secs
14. Dan Martin (Irl) Garmin-Cannondale at 51secs
DNF. Ryan Mullen (Irl) Garmin-Cannondale
