Guillaume Martin aiming to stay in GC battle at Vuelta a España

RINCON DE LA VICTORIA SPAIN AUGUST 24 LR Christian Eiking Odd of Norway and Team Intermarch Wanty Gobert Matriaux and Guillaume Martin of France and Team Cofidis in the Breakaway during the 76th Tour of Spain 2021 Stage 10 a 189km stage from Roquetas de Mar to Rincn de la Victoria lavuelta LaVuelta21 on August 24 2021 in Rincon De La Victoria Spain Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) battling for red with Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) during stage 10 of the Vuelta a España (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

At the mid-point of the Vuelta a España and following a day in the breakaway on stage 10 to Rincón de la Victoria, Cofidis leader Guillaume Martin has moved up to second overall, 1:19 up on race favourite Primož Roglič.

The Frenchman, who said before the race that he was aiming for a top-10 finish and a stage victory, now finds himself in the thick of battle at the top of the general classification, having gained almost 12 minutes in the break on Tuesday.

He now hopes to keep fighting for his GC position in the second half of the race, with the first challenge coming with Wednesday's stage 11, a steep hilltop finish at Valdepeñas de Jaén.

"I'm trying to hold onto this now," Martin said following his stage 10 gains. 

"And why shouldn't I try to win a stage in the coming days? There are still plenty of nice stages coming up in this Vuelta."

Martin found himself in a battle for the red jersey with Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) during stage 10, as the breakaway's advantage leapt to well over the 10 minutes required for either man to overhaul Roglič.

In the end, Martin couldn't get the better of the Norwegian, who led him by 29 seconds at the start of the day, instead finishing 12th, and a further 29 seconds back as Michael Storer (Team DSM) won the stage. Eiking pulled on the red leader's jersey, with Martin now second at 58 seconds. Roglič is third at 2:17.

Martin's day out front day was reminiscent of stage 14 of the Tour de France, where he jumped up to second overall after making the day's break, eventually ending up eighth overall in Paris.

"It was another hectic stage with a very fast start and a lot of passages through villages and towns," Martin explained. 

"I saw after about 60 kilometres that there was still no early breakaway and then I tried to go with it. That worked out in the end.

"At first it wasn't my intention to get as much time as possible in the general classification. However, I saw that the lead was getting bigger and bigger and did start thinking about the red jersey at one point.

"I tried to get away from Eiking on the final climb, but I wasn't stronger than him. Then I lost time in the descent. The roads were slippery, and I still have some demons after a crash I had at a training camp at the start of the season. I don't want to fall like that again."

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Daniel Ostanek
Senior news writer

Daniel Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, he had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.

 

Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

 

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also oversees The Leadout newsletter and How to Watch guides throughout the season. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal.