Danny boy

[Dekker_Tifosi]

The problem with Dan Martin is that he is so irregular.

You never know when he's good or when he's not good. He himself doens't even know.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

The problem with Dan Martin is that he is so irregular.

You never know when he's good or when he's not good. He himself doens't even know.

There's also his attacking mentality which exacerbates that inconsistency. He doesn't seem to have worked out when to ride conservatively yet, and that's an absolutely key skill for a Grand Tour GC man. He has to start learning to follow wheels sometimes if he wants to contend in a three week race.

 

[theyoungest]

There's also his attacking mentality which exacerbates that inconsistency. He doesn't seem to have worked out when to ride conservatively yet, and that's an absolutely key skill for a Grand Tour GC man. He has to start learning to follow wheels sometimes if he wants to contend in a three week race.

I think Vaughters said that with Martin it's all or nothing: either he contends for the win, or he finishes in the bus. I guess that's part mentality, and part physical inconsistency.

 

[ingsve]

I guess we'll see how he does in the Vuelta. According to Vaughters Martin is riding for GC there.

 

[sublimit]

He rides like he's on the edge the whole time and I'm not sure he has quite got it to mix it with the big climbers. The mountain ITT in the 2010 Giro he was terrible against the other riders and needed to do better so yeah not convinced.

He can maybe target a particular stage but for the overall top 10 in a GT is unlikely IMO.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I think he has some great potential. When he's in the mood and form he's a really great climber and probably quite underrated - just look at Emilia last year. He's rather inconsistent though and his ITT sucks.

Will be very interesting to follow him in the Vuelta if he can keep his good form.

 

[sublimit]

I think he has some great potential. When he's in the mood and form he's a really great climber and probably quite underrated - just look at Emilia last year. He's rather inconsistent though and his ITT sucks.

Will be very interesting to follow him in the Vuelta if he can keep his good form.

I'm pretty certain the Spanish climbers will own him, Roche will beat him every time also.

His lack of style and the way he fights his bike means he will just blow after a couple of hard stages.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I'm pretty certain the Spanish climbers will own him, Roche will beat him every time also.

His lack of style and the way he fights his bike means he will just blow after a couple of hard stages.

Perhaps. I never said he was a GC contender but I think he'll be able to do well on at least a few stages. For what it's worth I definitely think he has more GC potential than Roche.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

The mountain ITT in the 2010 Giro he was terrible against the other riders and needed to do better so yeah not convinced.

Most of the time between April and June, he's completely screwed by his allergies. He's undergone surgery twice this year in an attempt to finally stop his stop his nasal membranes from swelling shut. That's why all his results are either at Catalunya or before or from late June onwards. I really don't think that you can judge anything at all about his fit capacity from his performances at that time of year.

I'm pretty certain the Spanish climbers will own him, Roche will beat him every time also.

This is entirely possible, or it could be completely wrong. We just don't have very much to go on when it comes to his chances in the Vuelta.

He's only been in two GTs, his first one as a kid and his second one when he was crippled by allergies and both quite a while ago now. I really don't think that an awful lot of information can be extracted from either. We also know that he's capable of beating up somewhat weaker fields in one day races or week long races, but again, I don't think that necessarily tells us very much.

About the best indications we have are his results in Catalunya (2nd on GC and 3rd on GC against strong fields) and Emilia (which he should have won and would have won if he'd timed his attack slightly better). To me that indicates that on his day he can mix it with the big guns. What it still doesn't tell us is if he can do that for three weeks.

As far as his cousin is concerned, there's no question in my mind that Martin's best day is better than Roche's best day when it comes to climbing. The thing is though that riding a Grand Tour isn't about your best day.

 

[Nielsa]

and Emilia (which he should have won and would have won if he'd timed his attack slightly better). To me that indicates that on his day he can mix it with the big guns.

Emilia 2010 was great, Martin dropping riders one by one, then Gesink (and was it Scarponi #2?) punching past him on the finish.

Martin doesn't seem to have any punch, even when he kicked it yesterday up that climb in TdP, it took a good while for him to ride the peloton off his wheel. I really like his style though.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Martin doesn't seem to have any punch, even when he kicked it yesterday up that climb in TdP, it took a good while for him to ride the peloton off his wheel.

He seemed pretty punchy in Tre Valli and in his stage win at Poland last year. But you are right that he dropped people over a stretch of road yesterday rather than with a sudden burst clear.

 

[greatking88]

He rides like he's on the edge the whole time and I'm not sure he has quite got it to mix it with the big climbers. The mountain ITT in the 2010 Giro he was terrible against the other riders and needed to do better so yeah not convinced.

He can maybe target a particular stage but for the overall top 10 in a GT is unlikely IMO.

I think you have to understand his problems of non-performance in the giro relate to his allergies, and when Dan is going well, like in Catalunya this year he climbed better than Basso, Evans,Horner, Uran and Tondo(RIP). I think this shows Dans potential to mix it with the best..

 

[Irish2009]

Talk of Dan being a GC contender in the Grand Tours is premature. He's being good in 1 week stage races and single day races. He should have been in the tour team this year on merit. He should move on from Garmin next year to a team where he's guaranteed to get a start in the tour, but dont expect him ride for GC, stages in the mountains are what he should be aiming for. As for him declaring for Ireland, if the British Cycling Federation had bothered to look after him and take him on board i'm sure he'd be still riding for GB. Declaring for Ireland was a nessassity for him to progress in road racing.

 

[Angliru]

I'm pretty certain the Spanish climbers will own him, Roche will beat him every time also.

His lack of style and the way he fights his bike means he will just blow after a couple of hard stages.

Since when did a lack of style and the way a rider looks when climbing (Evans, Mancebo....) effect a rider's performance (Aren't they pretty much the same thing?)?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Talk of Dan being a GC contender in the Grand Tours is premature. He's being good in 1 week stage races and single day races. He should have been in the tour team this year on merit. He should move on from Garmin next year to a team where he's guaranteed to get a start in the tour, but dont expect him ride for GC, stages in the mountains are what he should be aiming for.

I don't really agree with you here. He's 24 at this point and he has to start seeing what he can do in Grand Tours at some stage. It might as well be now.

And I actually think he's a pretty much perfect fit for Garmin. They've brought him on slowly, giving him opportunities to be the leader in one day and week long races without putting too much pressure on him. Yes he'd be in their Tour team if it was simply a case of picking their 9 best riders, but they had good reasons not to do that. Their primary objectives were stage wins and they already had three guys who have proved they can get a top 10 in GC. Meanwhile, Martin is at a stage when he should be getting better with each passing year, while their existing GC men are at a stage where they are just getting older.

Riding the Vuelta this time around, with the support of his team, is a better idea for him than being a bit of a luxury in a Tour team focused on other goals.

As for him declaring for Ireland, if the British Cycling Federation had bothered to look after him and take him on board i'm sure he'd be still riding for GB

Yes, that was quite a screw up.