Forced to withdraw from the Tour de France after the stage nine time trial due to the lingering consequences of a bad crash on stage one, world TT champion Tony Martin reports that he is pleased with how his preparation has gone since then for one of his most crucial targets, the Olympic Games.
The Omega Pharma Quick Step rider will represent Germany in both Saturday’s road race and the August 1st time trial, and his morale is rising in tandem with his physical sensations.
“I’m pretty satisfied about my training in the last days. I'm having a good preparation for the Olympics. The weather was always nice. I didn't lose days of training. Considering everything, I think we made the right decision to leave the Tour,” he said in a team release.
Martin sustained a fractured scaphoid bone in his hand in that stage one fall and said that the injury persists; however he is able to function with some external support, so it shouldn’t affect his participation in the Games.
“[The fracture] is more or less the same situation as in the Tour de France,” he confirmed. “As everybody knows, it is difficult to heal a fracture like this. But I train using the brace and I try to use it even off of the bike — in the normal life, for example, when I have to drive my car.
“I trained a lot with my TT bike. Here near my home I can find really good parcours that are also far from the traffic. As you can understand, I don't, and I can't, take risk of crashing again before the Olympics.”
Martin was sidelined in early April when he was hit by a car when out training. Initially diagnosed with fractures to his cheekbone, jawbone and eye socket, he was later found to have also sustained small fractures in his left shoulder blade and upper arm.
He healed up in time to ride the Tour of Belgium, the Critérium du Dauphine and the national championships, then making the Omega Pharma Quick Step team for the Tour. However but bad luck struck again with that stage one crash. In addition to that, he had the misfortune to puncture in both the prologue and the stage nine time trial.
He’s hoping for better fortune in London, and also that the team will perform well. Martin believes the most likely outcome is a sprint in the road race, although the German team will hope that the bunch is reduced and Mark Cavendish is put into sufficient difficulty not to be a threat at the finish.
“On the road I think we can have a good chance with [Andre] Greipel to get at least a medal,” he said. “I will be happy to help him reach this goal. The road will be also a good preparation prior to the TT. I have only to be careful and stay away from trouble — meaning the crashes.”
On the basis of his time trial performances when in form, a fit Martin would be a real contender for a medal in the time trial, and could take gold. However that will depend on how his condition is after his setbacks in recent weeks. By the sounds of things, he’s satisfied at this point in time with how things have been going.
Saturday’s race will reveal more, both for him and for his supporters.