Dan Martin will start today’s Flèche Wallonne as one of Garmin-Cervélo’s protected riders. Third overall in the Volta a Catalunya showed that he is going well, and his climbing ability could well put him in a good position at the top of the Mur de Huy.
The Irishman was 18th last year, 19 seconds behind winner Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team), but has since gained in strength and confidence. He won a stage plus the overall classification in the ProTour Tour of Poland, then took both the Tre Valli Varesine and the Japan Cup.
Martin is now 24 years of age and should continue to gather top results for his team. He spoke to VeloNation in the Garmin-Cervélo team hotel yesterday evening and discussed his thoughts on today’s race, his team’s prospects, Philippe Gilbert’s chances, as well as about his strong showing in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and a more difficult experience in the Volta a Catalunya.
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VeloNation: Dan, you will line out in Flèche Wallonne as one of the riders who should be watched in the race. You had a quiet showing in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco recently, but showed strong form before that in the Volta a Catalunya, taking third, What have you done between Pais Vasco and this event?
Dan Martin: I have recovered! Everyone I have spoken to is so tired after it…it was such a hard race this year…I think the weather really added to that. Every day was just racing full gas all day…it was a really hard race. And obviously we were riding for Ryder as well…he got ninth, which was pretty impressive.
I just spent the week after recovering, then I did a couple of openers last weekend, and a bit of hard training. I was trying to keep as fresh as possible coming into this race [Flèche Wallonne], after some hard racing in the last few weeks. This week is always a hard one anyway.
VN: You have named this race as a big goal for your season. You said in a recent interview that you have been working hard in the gym, and have put on a bit of muscle. Was that a goal, to bulk up a little and try to build power?
DM: Not really, I don’t really worry about my weight too much. I think it is more important that you have your body working properly, rather than being a kilo lighter. That is what a lot of guys worry too much about, they lose too much weight and then their body shuts down and then it doesn’t work properly.
Obviously I do watch my diet, but as far as going to the gym and stuff, I think the fact that I have put on some muscle is just with age. I haven’t really done anything different than what I did in other years…I did the same gym routine and everything. It was more at the end of last season, in the Giro dell’Emilia and stuff, you could just see that I looked different after the Giro. I am growing up and getting older.
VN: If you do bulk up slightly, does that then hamper you on the longer, higher climbs?
DM: Well, Catalunya wasn’t too bad… (smiles). A kilo extra doesn’t make much difference, and if that kilo is muscle, then it is better than just being lighter.
I think it is just an age thing, I am just growing up and getting older. I am definitely leaner now than before.
VN: Do you think the climbs like the Mur de Huy lean more towards your forte, or do the longer, higher climbs fit you better? Or can you do both?
DM: I just enjoy these races… I don’t really think about it too much. It is more a case that I love the race tomorrow. I was climbing in the front last year, but I don’t really know how the final climb will go tomorrow. It is still trial and error for me, I don’t know what my strong spots are, I will just go to every race and see what happens.
In terms of the big climbs, my best result of the Giro last year was on the Zoncolan..that is long and steep. So I don’t really know. I don’t really like to pigeonhole myself.
VN: Does Flèche suit you more than Liege?
DM: I think so at the moment, purely because of the distance. Again, going back to my age, each year I am getting stronger. But Liege is still a hell of a long way. Maybe this year will be better…I have proved that I was getting better and better at racing longer distances, with Lombardia in 2009 and then Plouay last year. That was 260 kilometres and I was there at the finish.
I really enjoy racing Liege and finishing every year, because I think every year you get more experienced. You also get to know every inch of the course, which is important. It is a great race, and we have got a strong team going as well. It is going to be fun to be racing it, rather than just following.
VN: What is the hierarchy of the team for Flèche – are there a couple of protected guys?
DM: We haven’t talked about it yet. We will do so on the bus tomorrow, but it is also a case of what happens in the race. You could see in Amstel that the plan went wrong as Ryder got sick. That could happen tomorrow to any of us. I think we are quite a dynamic team, we are very flexible as well…we have guys who can go from a long way out. Then we have myself, Ryder and Christophe [Le Mevel]…everyone forgets that Christophe got 13th last year. We have got three guys who have got a top twenty in the race…I don’t think there are many teams who have that.
We have guys who can go a long way out…Christian [Vande Velde] is going really good, and David [Millar] as well. So we will see.
VN: In terms of collective strength, the team showed in Roubaix that sometimes it is better to have a very strong squad than to have the strongest rider in the race. That’s how Cancellara was beaten. Is this collective strength something that you think will be important in these Ardennes Classics?
DM: I think this is a totally different race to Roubaix. There is still going to be a group of 60 or 70 guys towards the finish. There are going to be breakaways going, but you are also going to have teams riding for a group finish. I think Katusha is a funny one as maybe they might right for Rodriguez, but they could have others attacking further out. Then you have got Saxo for Alberto, and Lotto for Gilbert, who will want everything to be together at the start of the last climb.
What is interesting tomorrow is you have got teams how are fully focussed on one guy, who will want to control it, then you have got some teams who can do both, and then you have got other teams who only have one option, to go for a long one. So it will be interesting.
VN: Philippe Gilbert was very impressive in Amstel, powering up the final climb to win. He’s a big rider, though, so do you think the Mur de Huy could be a little steep for him to win?
DM: I hope it is a bit too steep for him, because we’ll have a chance! Well, he hasn’t really been that successful on the Mur de Huy. Personally, the reason why I missed Amstel is because I like to try keep myself as fresh as possible for Flèche Wallonne.
But for sure he is a class rider…he can do back-to-back Classics, it is not a problem for him. He has got a few years extra, so he recovers better. He is the definitely the man on form at the moment. I think that confidence is always worth an extra few percent. He is going to get to the bottom of the climb tomorrow and be really confident, so that is definitely going to be worth something.
VN: Is a guy like Joaquim Rodriguez another danger to watch out for?
DM: I don’t think it is worth looking at others too much, to be honest. If you have got the legs, you can be there. I think that is why I like the race so much. It is a real tactical battle as far as positioning until the bottom of the climb, but I think if you start a fair ways back, you can still be in the front by the top if you are super strong. I think it is tactical in terms of choosing the right moment to accelerate…that is what is so difficult about it. But it is another year of experience for me, and if it doesn’t happen tomorrow, I have got a few years to go.
VN: You seem pretty good at keeping the pressure off…some guys say ‘I have to do this much by this age,’ but you are not like this.
DM: It is only a bike race, isn’t it? Maybe in a few years time when I run out of years, maybe I will feel I should have done things different, but as long as I do my best tomorrow, I will be happy. I am sure one of us will be at the front at the finish, so that is what is important for the team.
I just enjoy racing with these boys as well, that is part of it.
Strong in Catalunya, quiet in Pais Vasco:
VN: You placed third overall in the Vuelta a Catalunya…did you expect that?
DM: I didn’t, actually. My allergies have been pretty bad this year, actually…I haven’t been training so hard. Because of that factor as well, I have never really gone well in March/April before. I knew I would be strong and be able to do a good job for the team, but being right at the front of the race was a pleasant surprise.
VN: You had an operation on your nose over the winter…has that helped with the allergies?
DM: Yes, I think so…I think there is no way I would have been at that level last year. My allergies are still affecting me, but where it was taking ten or fifteen percent off my performance last year, now it is only taking five or six percent.
I also got really lucky in the sense that the pollen levels were less the week of the race. Three or four days before the race started, on the Wednesday or Thursday, I wouldn’t even train. It was that bad, I couldn’t breathe at all.
That is why I had no idea where my form was. I was planning on determining my form in training, but I actually couldn’t as I couldn’t breathe. I was very pessimistic going into the race, and that actually affected the results. I wasn’t confident at all. Had I been more confident, I would have been closer to the front at the bottom of the big climb, not starting so far back. It is a lesson for the future, and I think now after this result, it is going to be a bit easier for me to stay at the front of the race as I will get that bit more respect from my competitors.
VN: Things were different in Pais Vasco, where you had a quieter race.
DM: Yes, there were a lot of guys suffering with allergies there…that was very different to Catalunya. It was the worst I have ever experienced, it was unbelievable.
We actually talked about it this week. Every year it gets worse and worse, and this year is said to be the worst on record. I don’t know if that is true, but it certainly felt like it in the Basque Country. It was unbelievable. I think I was also paying as well as Catalunya was a really hard race and I was concentrated and racing hard every single day. So I might have been a bit tired going into Basque Country. But I feel good again now.
VN: How have the allergies been since then?
DM: As soon as I left the Basque Country and went back to Girona, I was fine. I lost two and a half kilos of water retention overnight. I bloat up with the allergic reaction…the body holds onto water.
VN: What will you do after Liege?
DM: I want to take a break for a week. I am really looking forward to it, just chilling out. After that, I think I will be doing California. That is pretty exciting as I haven’t done that race yet. We will have a strong team going as well, so I will be making my American debut.
VN: You rode the Giro last year; what has prompted you to miss it this time round?
DM: There is no point in me going to the Giro because of the allergies. I don’t really want to go and ride around and have my limiter on. Grand Tours are hard enough and so even if you are only at 99 percent of your potential, it is not something I like doing in a race.
VN: So does missing the Giro leave you open to riding the Tour?
DM: Wee haven’t talked about anything after California. I don’t even know if I will be doing Dauphine or Suisse yet…we will see. The Tour squad will be decided closer to the race. Missing the Giro means that I could end up doing it, but it’s too soon to say right now...