Dan Martin discussion thread

[del1962]

I was thinking that Cannondale would have to ride on the front tomorrow, forgot he moved to ETIXX

Nice win for him today

 

[happytramp]

Great start to the season for him. He's Looking a bit bigger than usual too. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing but so far so good.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Great start to the season for him. He's Looking a bit bigger than usual too. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing but so far so good.

Is he looking bigger or is it just that the rider he was in frame alongside for the longest was Quintana?

 

[Arked]

It always amazes how people can tell if rider gain or lost 1-3kg by just looking at him racing on TV or on standing on the photos. Or rather it makes me laugh, I don't know

But lets get back to Dan Martin. Great win for him. His future in Etixx looks very bright in my opinion.

 

[Akuryo]

Yeah, with Alaphilippe slowly gaining form after his illness and also Vakoc taking a huge step in his developement, they have a decent squad for the Ardennes even after the departure of kwiatkowski.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Typical Dan Martin win. An absolutely specialist in bigger group mountain stage sprints and hill sprints. Great final KM as always.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

Typical Dan Martin win. An absolutely specialist in bigger group mountain stage sprints and hill sprints. Great final KM as always.

Well, there is a a job opening for a new Purito given that the current Purito appears to be getting too old.

Martin seems to have three ways of winning - the last km hilly attack, the big group mountain sprint, as you mention, and also the long range attack on a mountain stage. It's the fact that he tries to take one of those ways to win as often as possible and doesn't spend his time concentrating on reliably bringing home seventh on GC that makes him fun to watch. And also a good fit for Etixx, who like wins above all and have never given the impression that they give a rats ass about placings.

He's also a funny tactical mix: very shrewd in the finale if he gets there well positioned but very likely to catastrophically mess up positioning in the first place.

 

[Kokoso]

Looks like he might have improved in mountains. That would be great since he seems very likeable. Real tests are yet to come though.

 

[Billie]

Re:

Looks like he might have improved in mountains. That would be great since he seems very likeable. Real tests are yet to come though.

Today wasn't a mountain. It's a steep hill exactly what Martin excels at.

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

Looks like he might have improved in mountains. That would be great since he seems very likeable. Real tests are yet to come though.

Today wasn't a mountain. It's a steep hill exactly what Martin excels at.

That's what I "the real tests' mean.

 

[Inquitus]

Great ride from Dan today, he seems to have improved at Etixx this season, in the past today would have proven perhaps too much for him, he's in with a great chance of a podium here, catching Froome might be a step too far, but if the GC Contenders contest the Stage win tomorrow, with his explosive finish and bonus seconds in play, 2nd place is definitely a possibility.

 

[liamito]

Do shorter stages suit him better?

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

Great ride from Dan today, he seems to have improved at Etixx this season, in the past today would have proven perhaps too much for him, he's in with a great chance of a podium here, catching Froome might be a step too far, but if the GC Contenders contest the Stage win tomorrow, with his explosive finish and bonus seconds in play, 2nd place is definitely a possibility.

Yes second is a possibility but I think he will be 3rd and beat Bardet

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

Do shorter stages suit him better?

Not really ...he excels at Ardennes and they are very long but the shorter mountain stages are better for him as he is very fast. Plus ovr a number os stages suit him better as the need for recovery

 

[vedrafjord]

Another great ride by Martin to force his way onto the podium. The way he's riding now he has the potential to really animate the Tour. Last year there were two mur stages that were tailor-made for him, but his team were rubbish at positioning him going into the climbs, so he had way too much ground to make up. On paper there aren't quite the chances for stages this year, but when he's on form there are lots of ways he can win. Hopefully he doesn't put all his eggs in the GC basket, because that would be boring and hasn't worked too well in the past.

 

[Akuryo]

Re:

Another great ride by Martin to force his way onto the podium. The way he's riding now he has the potential to really animate the Tour. Last year there were two mur stages that were tailor-made for him, but his team were rubbish at positioning him going into the climbs, so he had way too much ground to make up. On paper there aren't quite the chances for stages this year, but when he's on form there are lots of ways he can win. Hopefully he doesn't put all his eggs in the GC basket, because that would be boring and hasn't worked too well in the past.

During the Ardennes and also during the Dauphine he has formed a superb duo with Alaphilippe. Together with the right tactics they can surely make certain stages very, very interesting. We should be in for some action, cause the main goal of Etixx will be stages with Kittel. They won't have enough helpers for a real GC-bid of either one of them. At the Giro it was possible with Brambilla, Verona, Serry and De La Cruz as helpers for Jungels. Who will be there to help in the mountains during the Tour? Bouet ...

 

[Inquitus]

Awesome ride by Martin today, as I said yesterday with his kick and bonuses going to the GC group he had a great chance of a podium. Chapéau Dan, looking forward to seeing you in action at the tour, you seem to ride better than ever in the high mountains this year!

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

During the Ardennes and also during the Dauphine he has formed a superb duo with Alaphilippe. Together with the right tactics they can surely make certain stages very, very interesting. We should be in for some action, cause the main goal of Etixx will be stages with Kittel. They won't have enough helpers for a real GC-bid of either one of them. At the Giro it was possible with Brambilla, Verona, Serry and De La Cruz as helpers for Jungels. Who will be there to help in the mountains during the Tour? Bouet ...

During the Ardennes...you mean FW, other than that nothing, LBL was pretty bad actually. Maybe De Plus or Vakoč will turn into decent mountain domestique of he goes, who knows, or some of the Giro team goes to France.
I hate to say that, but by the time mountains come Dan will probably be out of the contention anyway. If not, with his style he probably won't need much domestuques, he won't make stages, just try to follow someone's wheel and wait for the finish to sprint for senconds.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

If not, with his style he probably won't need much domestuques, he won't make stages, just try to follow someone's wheel and wait for the finish to sprint for senconds.

Martin would probably be best advised to stick to Puritoing the climbing finishes as much as possible, but in fact he often attacks from longer range.

I think you are right though that he doesn't need a load of climbing domestiques to ride his race. And in any case, whichever of himself and Alaphillipe lose time can look after the other if the other is overperforming. There is little point putting a team of domestiques at the disposal of stagehunters or fringe GC men when you have the top sprinter.

 

[happytramp]

While i'm sure he'd love a high place finish I reckon he won't be happy without a stage win. Just wondering, of the stages remaining which look most favorable for him? I'm thinking possibly stage 15. If a group of strong climbers regroup on the descent he should win from a reduced bunch.... does that seem plausible?

Any other possibilities?

 

[vedrafjord]

It depends on where he is on GC - if he's further down, he could conceivably win any of the remaining mountain stages, but yes, stage 15 is probably his best bet. If he's in a group that's together on one of the MTFs with a km to go he also has a great chance, but depending on the gaps in the last week either Froome or Quintana will be trying to blow the race apart on those stages, so the chance of everyone being together under the kite is much lower.

 

[Leinster]

Re: Re:

Do shorter stages suit him better?

Not really ...he excels at Ardennes and they are very long but the shorter mountain stages are better for him as he is very fast. Plus ovr a number os stages suit him better as the need for recovery

Wow, thread dormant for nearly a year.

Going by his interview after the finish today, it's not that short stages suit him better, but shorter stages tend to lead to a lot of attacking, between lots of riders from different teams as the domestiques get burned off before the heads of state. Like in a classic, which is what he's good at. Stage races tend to be run more predictably, especially on long stages when riders have to be concerned about getting up again and repeating the next morning.

 

[happytramp]

So.... don't want to get ahead of myself here. But he's look rather good right now isn't he.

 

[Breh]

Another good showing from Martin today. 2nd top3 finish this tour.

 

[Blanco]

Re:

So.... don't want to get ahead of myself here. But he's look rather good right now isn't he.

He looked great! Question is can he hold that level for 3 weeks and on multi/mountain stages?