Tony Martin was a “fighter” and a “team player”, according to tributes issued by his gold medal-winning teammates after Wednesday’s mixed relay victory at the UCI Road World Championships.
The German, who announced his retirement on Sunday, bowed out in style on Wednesday, ending a 15-year career with another rainbow jersey on his shoulders as he claimed his eighth world title in the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay.
The 36-year-old was the story of the day and, even if the man himself was keen to highlight the fact that his five teammates were also world champions, they were more than happy for this to be about Tony.
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“When we heard some days ago that this would be his last event, we promised him to make it a good one,” was the first thing Lisa Brennauer said in the winners’ press conference.
“Everyone was super motivated. It couldn’t have gone any better. We’re super happy for him to end his amazing career like this.”
When the five of them, as a whole, were asked about Martin’s impact and influence, Brennauer quickly took the microphone and took it upon herself to be the one to answer.
“For me, he was always a person to look up to,” she said. “His TT performances were so outstanding for so many years, but he was mentally strong.
“Even when he had a setback, like in the 2016 Olympics for example, he came back to Qatar at the Worlds and he became world champion. So he’s a fighter. He had lots of lows in his career as well, but he always fought his way back. For every athlete, that’s something we have our biggest respect for and something I keep in my mind, to try and be the same fighter.
“He’s been an athlete we really look up to as the German cycling team and I wish him the best for the future.”
Unprompted, Nikias Arndt then picked up the baton.
“Another thing is, when I look back to when I first rode with him - at the Worlds in Richmond [2015] and Bergen [2017], he was always a great team player,” Arndt said.
“He was not keeping all his knowledge for himself. He was really keen to share it, and that made him the special guy he was. He was a real team player, and he always looked out for the young guys or his teammates, and that’s something I’ll keep in mind. He’s just a great team player and that’s one thing I’ll always remember.”
The affection had already been clear to see from the squad’s celebrations in Bruges. Martin himself described the moment they watched the Netherlands’ clock turn red - and subsequently sprang from their seats - as one of the highlights of his whole career. Those scenes continued onto the podium, where he was draped in a German flag by his beaming teammates.
Question marks were again raised about the value of the mixed relay on its second outing at Worlds, but for Martin, Brennauer, Arndt, Lisa Klein, Max Walscheid, and Mieke Kroger, it gave them something they’ll surely remember forever.
“It was a special day for all of us,” Arndt concluded. “To race together the last day in his career made it even more special than it already was.”
