• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

Daniel Martinez is the new Daniel Martin with additional letters

Page 7 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
I wonder what's up with him. He's like 17 minutes back now.

He rode high in a weak field Giro one year working for Egan and that made him a sure thing for a podium contender at the TdF in the eyes of the British centric media. It's easy to pinpoint riders due for a breakout ride because they are really strong in a race like Pais Vasco or the Dauphine, but the pace at the TDF is a different beast and you have to be able to recuperate every single day. Also the Ineos factor seems to push the expectations higher for riders like him, as though he's an automatic GC contender at the Tour since they were the dominant team of the 2010s in the TDF.

That's not to say that Martinez won't contend at the TdF in the years to come, but he hasn't really shown anything at this point that should've elevated him to the podium shortlist over a proven rider like G Thomas, or add an extra star next his name in those prediction things that everyone loves to use to rate the contenders ahead of big races.

Again that's not to say he won't be a TDF contender next year, or in the future, just Ineos has yet to crack the Slovenian code. Bernal won the Giro last year and is a great rider, but he was up against the likes of Damiano Caruso, Simon Yates, Vlasov, and Hugh Carthy. At the Vuelta, he finished 5th behind guys who had just come from the Tour. So that's not to say Martinez's fifth place in that Giro wasn't great, but it wasn't against the guys who would be competing for the podium of the TdF. Most TdF breakthroughs have proved themselves in the Vuelta the last 2-3 years.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: noob
He rode high in a weak field Giro one year working for Egan and that made him a sure thing for a podium contender at the TdF in the eyes of the British centric media. It's easy to pinpoint riders due for a breakout ride because they are really strong in a race like Pais Vasco or the Dauphine, but the pace at the TDF is a different beast and you have to be able to recuperate every single day. Also the Ineos factor seems to push the expectations higher for riders like him, as though he's an automatic GC contender at the Tour since they were the dominant team of the 2010s in the TDF.

That's not to say that Martinez won't contend at the TdF in the years to come, but he hasn't really shown anything at this point that should've elevated him to the podium shortlist over a proven rider like G Thomas, or add an extra star next his name in those prediction things that everyone loves to use to rate the contenders ahead of big races.

Again that's not to say he won't be a TDF contender next year, or in the future, just Ineos has yet to crack the Slovenian code. Bernal won the Giro last year and is a great rider, but he was up against the likes of Damiano Caruso, Simon Yates, Vlasov, and Hugh Carthy. At the Vuelta, he finished 5th behind guys who had just come from the Tour. So that's not to say Martinez's fifth place in that Giro wasn't great, but it wasn't against the guys who would be competing for the podium of the TdF. Most TdF breakthroughs have proved themselves in the Vuelta the last 2-3 years.
Yeah it’s super easy to know these things after the fact.

Of course Martinez was a podium contender after last years giro and the even higher level this spring. He wasn’t dropped in any race until June.

Right now he just isn’t on the same level. That’s not because the Tour has been that much harder so far. Just because he is riding a lot worse.
 
He wasn’t dropped in any race until June.

If the goal was for Martinez to be in peak condition at the Tour, then that plan may have backfired by being so strong earlier in the year. It wasn't like he lost time on some tough alpine stage today. He lost 15 minutes on an appetizer stage. Something obviously went wrong with his preparation and he very well could've been too good in the spring where he peaked and is now paying for it.

My point of the previous post is that spring success is a good indicator for proven TdF contenders, but isn't always an accurate of a gauge for riders who haven't yet been tested as a GC option in July.
 
I feel horrible for Martinez. I have been told that he has been sick for three days. But nothing sure. But riders and teams usually lie a little for damage control.
He posted on Instagram that he has been struggling with his health for three days as well. Something is obviously wrong, because the Martinez we saw this year wouldn’t loose 15 minutes on a climb where guys like Paret-Peintre and Schultz only loose a handful of seconds.
 
He keeps dropping time big time. INEOS buying time to see if he can recuperate for the third week. Otherwise it is really a moot point to have him here.

Having said that, the anonymity of Dani Martinez for doing bad at the Tour is appalling and depressing to me. In Colombia and outside of Colombia, is like if the Spring campaign did not happen. It is like if he was and is absolutely nobody. They don't know the name at all. In Colombia they don't know who he is. In other podcasts outside of Colombia they don't even know the name. He is being punished for being sick and erasing his spring campaign. Listen, this kid was tied for third in many betting houses for the GC of the Tour. He was basically behind Vingegard few seconds. These are the things that you love and hate about the Tour:

  • Love, because is the Tour and you need the personality to cope with the pressure. Riders that will always shine at the big stage of the races. It takes a lot. Some commentators have said it, that it is very hard for riders to go from domestique to leader because of that.
  • Hate, because cycling is not only the Tour. And we have created a monster. Tthe year that Bernal won every Colombian had his eyes in Quintana, LOL, and had no clue who Bernal was TBH. They didn't even recognized the kid after all the wins that he had before. This is how big the Tour is.

Just as a closing remark, I am at the Tour and seeing some of the stages at the finish lines and enjoying every minute of it. It was a dream of mine. The heat is very high. The last stage that I will watch is Alpe d'Huez and my journey will be finished there. Hopefully we will know who is going to be in yellow in Paris (probably we already know) and most importantly who will be at the podium with him. That is still exciting. The funny thing is that every time that I have come to visit Europe, a Colombian always been on the podium. This year I had high hopes for Dani and probably will be the first year that I come here and won't see one at the podium. Chao!
 
Just as a closing remark, I am at the Tour and seeing some of the stages at the finish lines and enjoying every minute of it. It was a dream of mine. The heat is very high. The last stage that I will watch is Alpe d'Huez and my journey will be finished there. Hopefully we will know who is going to be in yellow in Paris (probably we already know) and most importantly who will be at the podium with him. That is still exciting. The funny thing is that every time that I have come to visit Europe, a Colombian always been on the podium. This year I had high hopes for Dani and probably will be the first year that I come here and won't see one at the podium. Chao!
Maybe Quintana will!
 
Suntan lotion isn't going to fool anyone, Dani. You're gonna need a more convincing disguise if you want that double paycheck.
 
Suntan lotion isn't going to fool anyone, Dani. You're gonna need a more convincing disguise if you want that double paycheck.

Indeed this picture looks more like Dani Martinez than like the older picture...
But I'm not sure Bike Aid pays that much that it's worth it.
 
This guy is becoming an enigma to me. Nobody knows when he will perform or not. I hope there are no health issues with him.

He was pretty consistent last year aside from his illness at the Tour.

Promising TT performance at Algarve. There is a clear path for him to have a leadership role at the Tour again this year. He’s not a Pogacar or Vindegaard level talent but more than capable of finishing on the podium behind them I feel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
I somehow feel that Ineos have not yet bothered getting the most out of this rider. Not sure if it's just a an impression or if that's really the case, but after he switched to Ineos i expected him to really step it up, also given his age at that time. Him being a better TT'er than the likes of Bernal, Hart, Carapaz... well basically any GC rider since Froome/Thomas, had me believe he would thrive there. But i never get the feeling they actually take him seriously. Again in Algarve, he was working on Foia for Pidcock, while he might have been able to put a better performance in himself.
 
I think INEOS last year and now this year have given him quite a bit of responsibility. Last year they had two options with Thomas, but they were relying on him until he faltered. I felt so bad for him. This year there is no Thomas, so INEOS is relying on him solely pretty much. That is a big responsibility. I was shock to hear that yesterday.

Having said all that, I think he needs to be a bit more aggressive or hungry. He'll get his second chance. Hope that he does well this time because he has the talent.
 
I somehow feel that Ineos have not yet bothered getting the most out of this rider. Not sure if it's just a an impression or if that's really the case, but after he switched to Ineos i expected him to really step it up, also given his age at that time. Him being a better TT'er than the likes of Bernal, Hart, Carapaz... well basically any GC rider since Froome/Thomas, had me believe he would thrive there. But i never get the feeling they actually take him seriously. Again in Algarve, he was working on Foia for Pidcock, while he might have been able to put a better performance in himself.

Yeah, I often have the same feeling with him. Seemed to me that on Foia even Arensman was in the pecking order above Martinez, but then couldn’t hold on because of the mechanical he had before the climb. It was only due to the very long pull by Castroviejo that Martinez had to do little work from the front on Foia.

Then again I also have a feeling that Martinez just isn’t the type to bang the table and demand a leadership role.
 
I haven't followed him TOO closely, but my impression is that he's not quite on the level of at GT winner on multiple mountain stages. That could be because he's not been a protected rider, of course, for a full GT. I was a little surprised that EF didn't try to make him their marquee GT rider to replace Uran but I think (again, maybe wrong) that his move to Ineos came at a time when EF had very little money. But the work (and encouragement) he did for Bernal in the Giro really made me a fan.
 

TRENDING THREADS