His name hasn’t been mentioned as much as others in the favourites list but that suits Dan Martin just fine. A stage winner and thirteenth overall in the Vuelta a España plus third in the Memorial Marco Pantanti two weeks ago, he’s been a bit more low key in his last three races. He’s feeling good, though, and told VeloNation yesterday evening that he’s aiming to be right up there in today’s Il Lombardia Classic.
“It is a bit of an unknown, to be honest, I am pretty tired. It’s been a long year and a long couple of weeks since the Vuelta, but I do feel pretty good. This is a race I enjoy, I really like doing, and it suits me well also,” he said.
“I hope tomorrow I will be there. As always, I will give it everything and do my best. I think that should be good enough to be involved in the race.”
Martin finished eighth in the race two years ago and was feeling ambitious last season. However he crashed on the descent of the Colle di Balisio, ending his chances. Winning the Japan Cup afterwards was a consolation of sorts, but not the same thing.
Twelve months later, his career has moved on with several more victories and he’s a stronger and more experienced rider than before. Question is, what is his condition like? He was 21st in the Giro dell’Emilia and 56th in the GP Beghelli last weekend, and a non-finisher in Friday’s Gran Piemonte. Cause for concern? Not exactly, he says. “I was feeling the effects of a heavy schedule off the bike, to be honest,” he explained. “The way the flights worked out getting to races, I was really not getting much sleep at all.
“I paid for that at Emilia. But I have been feeling really good in races, especially Beghelli and Piemonte. I was very good, it very much just keeping as fresh as possible mentally. I think at this time of year, every deep effort that you make in a race counts. Hopefully I will have enough left in the tank to make one last big effort.”
As for his non finish in Piemonte, that was planned beforehand. “I’ve done that the last three years, to be honest,” he laughed. For him, with just two days between the two races, the best warm-up for Lombardia is to do things that way. Don't read anything into the DNF.
New route points to explosive finale:
Apart from having a name change from the Giro di Lombardia to Il Lombardia, this year’s race has seen some pronounced changes to the course. For the first time, the finish will be in Lecco rather than the previous finale to Como; there are also big differences along the route. The first big climb is that of Valcava, 11.7 kilometres long and averaging eight percent, then the short Colle Brianza and the nine kilometre Colma di Sormano follow.
The course takes the riders over the famed Madonna del Ghisallo climb, a traditional inclusion which this year tops out less than 50 kilometres from the line. It then heads to Lake Como before diverting to the new final climb, that of the Villa Vergano. Although it’s just 3.3 kilometres, the 7.4 percent average gradient includes a section of fifteen percent near the top. With the summit just nine kilometres from the finish line, those at the front there will be in prime position to go for the win.
Martin believes the effect on the racing will be pronounced. “I think it is going to make the tactics a lot different..there is no structured pattern as to how the race is going to go,” he said. “Everybody is going into the unknown.”
Although many of the riders will have checked out the new route, he believes that sense of the unknown remains. “When you pre-ride a course, it always feels more difficult in training than it does in racing,” he explained. “But I think it is good to make the change and there is definitely more climbing involved than before, even if there is less climbing in the final fifty kilometres.
“When we rode it on Tuesday, it was really quite windy and all climbs were a headwind. If it’s like that in the race, it could negate attacks on the Sormano and the Ghisallo, but that would suit me if it comes down to the final climb. That is perfect for me. The final climb is harder than it has been in previous years as well, so that that will be interesting.”
The Irishman is a strong climber with a punchy burst of speed. Does he believe that a rider going over the summit alone would have a chance of holding on to the finish? “Definitely,” he answered. “You have got the tactics of being in a group. If you have got one guy alone and a group behind, will the group work together? That is the question. It is only nine or ten kilometres off the top of the climb, and five of that is downhill. You only have three or four kilometres on the flat into Lecco and that is over quite quick, especially at that speed. So one guy could do it.
“As always it will be a very tactical race, as all of these Classics are. The tactics are going to be made even more difficult by the unpredictable form of guys as well and the time of year. With such a long race as well, it is very much a question of how fresh guys are.”
He hopes that he’s done things right in terms of measuring out his remaining energy in the days leading up to the race. If he’s done things right, Irish fans will have plenty to watch in the finale. But so too for other reasons; the one-two by Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Philip Deignan (RadioShack) on the hardest stage of the Tour of Beijing shows that his compatriots are in good shape, and so too Roche’s fifth place in Piemonte on Thursday.
“They could definitely be up there towards the end of the race,” Martin said. “I saw them going for it in Beijing and I was jealous not to be there…it would have been fun with the three of us. We haven’t really raced much this year.
“It will be good to see Philip again and of course Nico. Nico is going really well, and as far as Philip goes, it is good to see him back at a strong level. I’ve always said that these Classics really suit all three of us. We have a lot of a potential as a country going into these races, and it’s exciting for the people at home...”