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Daniel Martin in the middle of a Cannondale-Garmin sandwich (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

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Cannondale-Garmin's Dan Martin descends. (Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)

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Daniel Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) climbing (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

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The Cannondale Garmin riders formed a congratulatory huddle together as soon as they arrived back from the TTT (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)

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Captain America, Andrew Talansky starts his time trial (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Dan Martin's Tour de France began with a steady ride in the Utrecht time trial on Saturday but the Irishman's focus is already been dialled in on the road race stages and especially stage 3, which finishes atop the Mur de Huy in Belgium.

Video: Dan Martin aiming for Mur de Huy redemption in Tour de France

Tour de France: Cannondale-Garmin look to spread risk and reap rewards

"It's the old cliché but you really have to take it day-by-day. I can't start thinking about Monday because I could end up in a ditch first. We have the best team possible for the flat stages in order to protect us. This group has been together since the Dauphiné and every day we're gelling more and more. I'm confident that they'll get us to mountains in one piece and still in contention. That's when the GC race starts proper."

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Daniel Benson

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.