Dan Martin will lead UAE Team Emirates at the forthcoming Tour de France and the Irishman has said that everything has gone well for him since the Critérium du Dauphiné where he finished fourth overall in addition to winning the fifth stage from Grenoble to Valmorel.

At last year’s Tour, Martin finished sixth overall which marked his best overall result at a Grand Tour. The high overall finish was all the more remarkable considering Martin rode the second half of the race with two vertebrae fractures. He suffered the injuries when he crashed at high speed on stage nine after Richie Porte lost control of the bike on a corner and crashed hard, taking Martin with him.

“Since I signed for Team UAE the big goal has been the Tour de France,” Martin said. “I plan to take the race day by day, stage by stage and try to achieve the best results possible.

“It’s really a race of two halves and the first nine days will be very tricky bringing different challenges each day, but I’m confident we have a great team that can get me to the mountains in a good position to have a bit of fun. Everything has gone well since the Dauphine and I’m just looking forward to getting started.”

For the flat stages, the team will support European champion Alexander Kristoff who will be looking to add to the two stage wins he took in 2014.

“This is the biggest race in the world,” Kristoff said. “The event where you get all the best cyclists, the best sprinters. I am going to France determined to get the best result possible and, if possible, a stage victory.”

Martin and Kristoff will be supported by Marco Mercato, Rory Sutherland, Roberto Ferrari, Oliviero Troia and the two climbers Darwin Atapuma and Kristijan Durasek.

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