Irish pro Dan Martin has a chance on Sunday to make a big push for Tour de France selection when he lines out in the Giro di Toscana. Martin shone in Italy last year when he won the 1.HC Tre Valli Varesine, rocketing clear on the final climb and beating a quality field. It was one of four strong international wins, with the 24 year old also picking up a stage plus the overall classification in the ProTour-level Tour of Poland, as well as victory in the season-closing Japan Cup.
“I seem to enjoy one day races in Italy,” he told VeloNation this week, referring to the upcoming Toscana appointment. “I like racing there, they always seem to be good for me, and they seem to suit me as well. Hopefully I will be able to test the legs there, and then go to the nationals to try and get my jersey back. Apparently the team has done a very cool design this year, so it is more added motivation to get it back.”
Repeating his 2008 victory in the nationals is a priority, but a bigger goal is to start his first Tour de France this July, and to perform as well as possible. Martin has never done the race, but was actually listed to compete in the 2009 edition. However with days to go before the start, he experienced the flare-up of a knee problem and so he and the team decided it was prudent to give the Tour a miss. Last year he opted to ride the Giro instead, believing he would have more opportunities.
Older and more experienced now, he has many good performances under his belt. Martin’s been afflicted by allergies for much of this spring, though; he had a nose operation over the winter which he hoped would cure the issue, but still appears to be suffering as before.
When the pollen rises and Martin has severe symptoms, things get more difficult. He experiences discomfort breathing, finds it difficult to get his heart rate up to the required level (thus hampering performance) and, surprisingly, puts on weight. He gains two to three kilos practically overnight, and this fluid retention disappears equally quickly once the allergy subsides.
Fortunately the Tour de France is run off at a time during the season when there are very little allergens in the air. As shown by his racing in other years in July and August, if he is selected he should be able to perform at his natural level. At full strength, he has the potential to win a stage, to perhaps chase a solid overall position and, certainly, to ride strongly in support of team leaders Christian Vande Velde and Ryder Hesjedal.
Fluctuating form due to pollen-rich spring:
While the allergy issue has affected him in several of this spring’s races, he has also shown his ability on several other occasions. He was third on a stage of the Tour of the Mediterranean, fourth on a stage and third overall in the Volta a Catalunya, and finished fourteenth overall in the Tour of California.
More recently, he was one of the strongest riders at the end of the fifth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Martin attacked repeatedly on the final climb of Les Gets and, had the climb been steeper, probably could have maintained the gaps he opened. His final finishing position was eighth, but he had been aiming higher.
“The thing is, on paper that stage didn’t really suit me,” he told VeloNation. “Also, how the race played out was a factor [in the result]…I could have ridden for second or third, but I had to attack early to try to get back Christophe Kern, who had attacked before. He had a good gap with two kilometres to go, and that is why I went so early. I could have just waited, waited, waited and gone in the last kilometre, and maybe got second or third, or at least a higher result than I did. But I tried to win the stage...”
The following two days should have been better suited to him, with tougher climbs playing towards his uphill abilities. Unfortunately a surge in pollen levels put paid to that. “That stage really gave me hope for the weekend,” he said. “I went into the Saturday and Sunday stage really optimistic about being able to race at the front of the peloton, to have fun racing again. It is so long since I felt so good in a race, since Catalunya, so it would have been a lot of fun to be able to race with the guys.
“But it wasn’t to be. I just couldn’t breathe. I felt really good [before], I am really good condition and I showed that on the Friday stage, when I tried to go in the break at the start and I still ended up having the legs in the finish to be really aggressive. But Saturday and Sunday, I really did suffer with my breathing…at times it felt like I was choking on my own throat. It was not a pleasant experience. I was really sad and really frustrated, because I know I am going good, good enough to be at the front in the race.”
When issues like that happen, he has to just accept it and move on. “It was in the French press afterward that it was a really irregular weekend…the pollen has never been present so late in the year. Before the Dauphiné I had no problems, so it was just really unusual that the allergies were present during the race. It’s very frustrating as I had worked to hard to be in condition. I will move on…it gives me more motivation to get to the bottom of this issue. We are working hard to try to find a solution for next year’s allergy period.”
Thinking Tour:
Judging by previous years, it’s very unlikely that Martin woiuld experience the same issues in the Tour. Even so, he knows that he must wait and see what the team decides vis-à-vis selection or, rather, what Garmin-Cervélo CEO Jonathan Vaughters chooses.
The latter indicated his dilemma earlier today. “I am really stressed about making the TdF selection,” he said on Twitter. “There are 11 guys that deserve to go. I can only take 9. Someone will be upset.”
Speculation has already begun as to who are the eleven riders mentioned. Christian Vande Velde and Ryder Hesjedal seem to be almost certain, particularly as they finished fourth and seventh overall in the past. So too Tyler Farrar and world champion Thor Hushovd, the two fastest riders on the team when it comes to bunch finishes. Either could take a stage win, and possibly also fight for the points jersey.
David Millar also seems like a cert; he’s one of the most experienced riders in the lineup, will be invaluable in the team time trial, and should fight for victory in the Grenoble TT. His victory against the clock at the Giro d’Italia showed that he is in good form, and it’s hard to see how he could miss the race. Ditto for Dave Zabriskie, the US time trial champion.
That leaves three slots to be filled. Velochrono.fr has nominated who it feels are the likely 11; looking behind the names mentioned here, that leaves the quintet of Julian Dean, Christophe Le Mével, Dan Martin, Tom Danielson and Johan Van Summeren fighting for the remaining places. Which of those are selected may well depend on what time of team Vaughters wants to field.
“I think it is still up in the air. The way it is going at the moment..Tyler and Thor are showing that they are really strong,” Martin said. “I don’t know if Jonathan is going to try to build the squad around them, or to give us climbers a chance.
“All I have done is to get into the best condition possible,” he continued, showing how he has tackled the uncertainty. “I think I am in really good form at the moment, maybe the best form I have been in…definitely this year, anyway. So I have just got to hope that they give me my chance.”
One thing is certain: riding well in Toscana on Sunday wouldn't do his prospects any harm at all.