Less is more for Guillaume Martin on road to 2023 Tour de France

LAGNIEU FRANCE AUGUST 10 Guillaume Martin of France and Team Cofidis competes during the 34th Tour de lAin 2022 Stage 2 a 144km stage from SaintVulbas to Lagnieu TDA22 on August 10 2022 in Lagnieu France Photo by Bas CzerwinskiGetty Images
(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)

After taking on his Giro d’Italia debut last season, Guillaume Martin will make the Tour de France his sole Grand Tour focus in 2023, with the Cofidis rider encouraged by the tough start to the race in the Basque Country and the Pyrenees.

Martin was forced to abandon last year’s Tour after testing positive for COVID-19 at the end of the first week. The Frenchman’s best Tour finish remains his 8th place in 2021, which ironically came after he had entered the race determined to chase stage victories rather than the overall standings.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.