Irishman to return at Dauphine in Tour de France build-up
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Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Daniel Martin of Ireland and UAE Team Emirates(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Dan Martin was content with his Tour de Romandie debut, where he finished 10th overall. The Irishman was a creditable eight in the mountain time trial to Villars but was unable to follow the attacks on the following mountain stage to Sion, and finished 22nd. That result saw him drop from eight to 10th on GC, but he still made the podium on the final stage after UAE Team Emirates picked up the team prize in Geneva.
Romandie marked the last race in Martin's block of Spring races, before he takes a break and returns to the Criterium du Dauphine in June.
"What we've got out of this week has almost been better than we expected at the start," Martin told Cyclingnews as he waited to step onto the podium.
"It's funny that my first podium with the team is a team prize. Hopefully that the sign of things to come. I've been limping through the week with illness since the Classics but it's just the consistency that I need to add. This is also been the end of a really long block of racing for me but it's been a good one for the Tour."
Martin was unable to follow the accelerations of Egan Bernal (Team Sky) and eventual race winner Primoz Roglic (LottoNl Jumbo) on the final climb of the queen stage, but he still finds positive signs in his performance.
"With all the issues I've had this year I'm happy to have made that really big effort on the queen stage. I really pushed myself to the limit and gone beyond that limit. I found out where that was yesterday on the climbs."
With just three top-10s this season, Martin has yet to hit the highs of previous seasons but his move from Quick-Step Floors to UAE Team Emirates has been a major shift. New equipment, a different team language, and the fact that UAE are only in their second term, have meant obstacles to overcome in the opening few months of this season.
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"It's just down to learning. So, look at nutrition sponsors. You need to learn about each of their products and how they work with your body. We're definitely learning but it's a relationship thing too, learning how to work with each other. I'm just really happy to go into this break feeling really good. We're on the podium together and that feels great."
After the Tour de Romandie the Irishman heads home. He will be in the United Kingdom for a few days before beginning his next training block. The Criterium du Dauphine will be his next race as his final hit-out before the Tour de France in July.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
