Dan Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) has moved up one position on GC at the Tour de France after today’s tough stage to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc and now sits in 9th position with just two stages remaining.
The Irish rider finished in 7th place on the stage, 28″ down on stage winner Romain Bardet (Ag2R-La Mondiale) and is now 7’10” behind race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky).
Martin was aggressive on the stage which was affected by numerous crashes and made a bid for glory with four kilometres remaining. At that stage, Bardet was clear with Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) – the lone survivor of the day’s escape.
For a short while, it looked like Martin might be able to make inroads on the lead of Bardet and Costa. However, he was chased down by the yellow jersey group. Despite his efforts though, he was able to hang in with this group.
Martin crossed the finish line in seventh place, 36 seconds behind stage winner Romain Bardet, and at the end of the day saw his efforts pay off, as he gained a place in the general classification ahead of the race’s final mountain test (Megève – Morzine).
“Some riders were crashing in front of me and I was a bit more careful, but the Specialized tires are the best in the world, so I didn’t have problems and wasn’t nervous on that dangerous descent,” he said afterwards.
“I stayed relaxed all day, the guys helped me the best way they could and I had strong legs. I knew Bardet was up the road and that’s why I decided to attack. I felt I could go for the stage win, especially as I didn’t thought there was an interest in chasing me. Still, despite being caught, I’m glad I had this go.”
Martin also spoke about what he has learned from this Tour and what he’s going to work on in the future: “The time I’ve lost comes down to experience, which is something you get with learning. I’m definitely one of the best guys on the climbs here in the race, so in the winter I will work more on my time trial, because I saw that I can fight for a good overall in the Tour de France.”
