HTC Highroad rider Tony Martin rode Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne to loosen up for this weekend; the gloves are off in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he will go all out for a big result.
The German spoke to VeloNation yesterday afternoon at the team hotel in Herderen, and was clear on what he was aiming to achieve. “My big goal is Liege. I want to ride top ten,” he said. “Normally I am a GC rider in big stage races. This is a one day race so normally it is not my favourite, but I really like the Ardennes Classics, especially Liege. So it is my personal goal to come here for a top ten.”
He will spearhead the team with Michael Albasini, while Tejay Van Garderen will also be a rider who will be protected early on. Martin identifies Alexandre Vinokourov, Philippe Gilbert, Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck as the main rivals. Gilbert has won the Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, putting him in a position where he could become the first rider since Davide Rebellin in 2004 to take a very rare triple.
Martin says that the Belgian will be highly motivated as a result, although he recognises that the nature of the course is different. “I think the parcours is a little bit more open as the final is not so hard as in Amstel and Fleche.”
2011 has been a good season thus far for Martin, who got things going with a time trial win and overall victory in the Volta ao Algarve, then grabbed his biggest career result in Paris-Nice. He climbed with the best there and then dominated the time trial, seizing the yellow jersey and holding it until the end.
“It is really important because it showed that I can beat the really big guys,” he said. “It was my goal to go for GC in Paris-Nice, to get on the podium, and then I won it, so I saw that when I have a goal, I can really make it. That gives me confidence for the Tour de France.”