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Seems like he had no other choice in this case.
This guy gets no love here. He pulls off a jump to second place and nobody blinks an eye?
We could go as far as saying that this Tour he has been the best Martin (French Martin > Irish Martin > German Martin, sorry Tony better being as invisible as Dan than getting screen time only for crashes).
We could go as far as saying that this Tour he has been the best Martin (French Martin > Irish Martin > German Martin, sorry Tony better being as invisible as Dan than getting screen time only for crashes).
That was a nice ride today, but is he really a threat for the podium? and if not, was it really a better ride than any of the 10 guys that finished ahead of him today?
I'd love to see him on the podium, but I don't believe it. Except if tactical situations arise which enable him to do so. He's a really attacking rider despite his diesel physics, so I enjoy watching him, but
- he's slightly below the climbers like Uran, Mas, etc. I think, so he will normally lose a bit of time on the mountain stages on them - not much, maybe 15 seconds here, 30 seconds there, but that's too much, because
- his time trialing is really bad. Vingegaard, Lutsenko, Uran, Mas all should do significantly better, even Carapaz is a better time trialer. I think he will lose 2-3 minutes on them in the last tt.
Ah, and didn't he say himself he's not at his best?
He is no threat to the top 8 really. Yesterday he wasnt even in the top five strongest in the break and is running on empty. Very nice and worthwhile effort though, definitely the sort of riding I can root for.
He'll probably lose time in the next few mountain stages, but I can see him going in the break again on stage 18.
I love this guy - he has the ability of Meintjes but the mentality of Contador.
I love this guy - he has the ability of Meintjes but the mentality of Contador.
He will earn a Top10 placing, which he has been aiming for the last few years.
He lacks the ability to reallistically target a podium or a Top5 (barring a 10 minute gift), but tries to get the maximum off his capabilities. IMHO he is much more interesting than the Uran & Keldermann types.
He lacks the ability to reallistically target a podium or a Top5 (barring a 10 minute gift), but tries to get the maximum off his capabilities. IMHO he is much more interesting than the Uran & Keldermann types.
Living in France, I've followed him pretty closely. It's strange to think, given what seems to be a limited skill set, that he's just about one of the top 10 GT riders in the world but his results at Wanty and Cofidis don't lie. Last year at the Tour he was really strong before crashing in a flat stage and still finished 11th. He's also improved every year in races against non-French competition, although he wasn't great this year until he beat up on a local field at the Mercantour tour.
And he's probably one of the most interesting guys in the peloton, too.
Solid ride by him today. He was 10th among the riders in the current top 10, and Gaudu was the only threat who took time on him. An advantage of less than four minutes on Gaudu is not a lot though, if DG has the same level tomorrow and also takes time back in the ITT. Unless GM jumps the shark tomorrow, 11th should be secured, but I would be very happy for him if he finally cracks the top 10. I do hope both him and Gaudu make it though.
Top 10 is secured, and I'm happy for him. He's been the best Martin in this race. Bilbao will most likely overtake him in the ITT, but it will still be a fine result for him. Now he can travel to Tokyo with a smile on his face before returning to the Vuelta to stage hunt once more.
What do we make of GMart's Vuelta so far? Can he hang on for a podium? I'd argue that it's possible, but of course he'd need 2 minutes advantage on P4 and below before the TT.
He's (again) cleverly gained time in a break, but with Wanty doing the hard yards to support Eiking recently, and JV riding for Roglic, Ineos's favorites being a bit subpar (and also using energy) he's had a bit of a breather.
On his day, he can climb with nearly the best, although his penchant for unzipping his jersey all the way acts as a sail on the descents...
He's (again) cleverly gained time in a break, but with Wanty doing the hard yards to support Eiking recently, and JV riding for Roglic, Ineos's favorites being a bit subpar (and also using energy) he's had a bit of a breather.
On his day, he can climb with nearly the best, although his penchant for unzipping his jersey all the way acts as a sail on the descents...
Of course he can't hang on for a podium. Maybe in the range from 6 to 8 if he has a good final week.
If he had his level from Dauphiné 2020, it would be something else but he hasn't shown that this year.
If he had his level from Dauphiné 2020, it would be something else but he hasn't shown that this year.
I think he can get 5th if some things works out in his favour. Roglic, Mas, Bernal will gain a lot of time on him next week and will be 1-2-3 in my book. On Lopez, Haig and Yates he has over 2 Minutes. Lopez could lose some time due to helping MAS by attacking early and breaking down. Same for Yates, also Yates known for being weak in third week. So could stay in front of these two.
But i would think 7th is the most probable with someone from even farther behind also getting him, but someone favoured surprisingle chrashing or busting.
But i would think 7th is the most probable with someone from even farther behind also getting him, but someone favoured surprisingle chrashing or busting.
Last year he seemed to peak a little too early, cause his form in the Dauphiné and in the first week of the Tour was truely his best level yet. Especially seen on the Orcières-Merlette stage, where he attacked from the group of favourites and still finished third.
He has looked alright the last couple of days, but the pace hasn't been that high either, so I'm still not sure, whether he'll fade in the last week because he has the Tour in his legs or not. Luckily for him the field ins't stacked with great time trialists, so unless he has a bad day, his chances of getting a good result are promising.
He has looked alright the last couple of days, but the pace hasn't been that high either, so I'm still not sure, whether he'll fade in the last week because he has the Tour in his legs or not. Luckily for him the field ins't stacked with great time trialists, so unless he has a bad day, his chances of getting a good result are promising.
That's my take, too. I'm somewhat fascinated by his ability to just hang around the Top 10 no matter what, while others sort of fall away, he's still tortoising along. He's been really under the radar, although it's a strategic luxury for Roglic to keep the red jersey in Eiking's hands, which also benefits GMart.
Guillaume has been going under the radar indeed. He hasn't finished inside the top-10 on any of stages this Vuelta. Quite an achievement for the number 2 in GC.
New book out, in French, https://www.grasset.fr/livres/la-societe-du-peloton-9782246826880
Please remember you can probably order it at your local Basque book shop as well.
Please remember you can probably order it at your local Basque book shop as well.
This guy has some of the weirdest tactics I've ever seen. If he was in Movistar jersey people would be laughing at him. He seems to consistently target the GC, not by conserving strength throughout the race and giving maximum effort on the biggest stages, oh no. For him it's to join breaks and make an effort there, or, even more strangely, to launch from the peloton when a break is out of sight (and uncatchable) in order to make up seconds or minutes when nobody chases him.
The end result is the same. The effort he expends on such attacks is universally lost (with interest) when the main stages comes around. Generally, he doesn't even seem to target KotM (winning it at the Vuelta in 2020). Am I reading the guy wrong? Is he just really antisocial and wants to maximise the time he spends away from the peloton? Please explain these tactics from him and Cofidis because it is happening too often to be anything other than premeditated and I can't believe it's the best opportunity for Martin to get a decent standing on GC.
The end result is the same. The effort he expends on such attacks is universally lost (with interest) when the main stages comes around. Generally, he doesn't even seem to target KotM (winning it at the Vuelta in 2020). Am I reading the guy wrong? Is he just really antisocial and wants to maximise the time he spends away from the peloton? Please explain these tactics from him and Cofidis because it is happening too often to be anything other than premeditated and I can't believe it's the best opportunity for Martin to get a decent standing on GC.
So far it worked pretty well for him. Todays performance was more of an outlier. On paper he isn´t as good of a climber as other top 10-15 GC guys. Leaving him in a position where he can join the breakaway and make up some time. His biggest strength is probably day-to-day recovery. That´s why I mentioned today as an outlier. In past GTs he didn´t collapse.
I suppose it's a different way to approach a coveted top 10 finish than Andreas Kloden but I'm not convinced Cofidis have stumbled across a master tactic that other teams who'd love a top 10 have overlooked. I'd prefer to see him go for stages and/or the KotM, but presumably that gains less points than finishing 9th overall? Below is an article trying to provide context.
What is Guillaume Martin up to at the Giro?
Guillaume "yo-yo" Martin is up to his old tricks and back in the top 10 after stage 15 of the 2022 Giro d'Italia.
cyclingtips.com
His strenghts and weaknesses are quite clear to see. It wasn't a surprise that he ended up missing out when the split happened, and then there was no way for him to survive with a good result.
It's quite sad because getting a top 10 this way is what he's good at, and now I can't see a way for him to achieve that here. He will probably still try his luck in breaks, but there will most likely always be some riders who are better than him on the day, so it will be hard for him to win a stage. And considering the amoun of kilometres he's spend in breaks already, it astonishing that he hasn't picked up any KOM points so that won't be a possibility either, though with his lack of accelaration he probably would have lost out on that anyway.
He'll get another 21 chances in July though, so I'm not too worried.
It's quite sad because getting a top 10 this way is what he's good at, and now I can't see a way for him to achieve that here. He will probably still try his luck in breaks, but there will most likely always be some riders who are better than him on the day, so it will be hard for him to win a stage. And considering the amoun of kilometres he's spend in breaks already, it astonishing that he hasn't picked up any KOM points so that won't be a possibility either, though with his lack of accelaration he probably would have lost out on that anyway.
He'll get another 21 chances in July though, so I'm not too worried.
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