He may have been beaten by Fabian Cancellara in the two races against the clock in the Tour de France, but his earlier Tour de Suisse time trial victory helps motivate Tony Martin to aim for the rainbow jersey of world champion this Autumn.
The 25 year old German rider will ride the Eneco Tour and the Tour of Britain as part of his preparation for the 45.8 kilometre race on September 30th. He finished third in last year’s worlds, clocking a time two minutes 30 seconds off the gold medal of Cancellara, and one minute three seconds behind runner-up Gustav Larsson of Sweden.
However he was far closer in this year’s Tour. He was second in the prologue, ten seconds back, and was just 17 seconds slower over the far-longer 52 kilometre TT on the penultimate day. The differences between them are less than in 2009, and so he’s fired up to do a ride in the worlds.
“I would like to get back on the podium in the time trial,” he told Radsport News. “I will certainly try to get the gold medal. During the Tour, I have seen that it’s hard to beat Cancellara, but I will try again.”
Martin was seen by some as a possible Tour de France contender, but he feels that he needs more physical maturity before he can have a shot at that. “At the moment I am good for ten-day races,” he admitted. “I need some more time for very long races. I also think that I will be much stronger than this year in next year’s Tour, as I had some problems. I’m definitely optimistic that I will be up front even in the Grand Tours.”
The HTC Columbia rider competed in five post-Tour criteriums, describing them as stressful, but also fun. He is planning on spending several days at home resting, then will start building up for the start of the Eneco Tour on August 17th.
His decision to ride the Tour of Britain means that he won’t ride the Vuelta a España. Cancellara competed in the Spanish race last year, winning the prologue and the stage seven time trial, then pulling out after stage 13. Many of those who will aim for the world championship time trial and road race will do at least part of the Spanish Tour. However Martin wants to repeat the Eneco Tour/Tour of Britain programme he followed last year.