Although he was hampered by a headwind at the top of the day's final climb, Dan Martin was prominent on the first big day in the mountains at the Tour de France on Tuesday.
The Irish rider attacked near the top of the Col de la Colombière and while he was brought back on the descent by the group of main contenders, he nevertheless showed his strength with the move.
“It’s nice to get the first one out of the way,” he said, referring to the race’s mountain stages. “It’s always a bit nervous after the rest day. I’m pretty happy with that. It was a block head wind on the final climb. Every bone in my body said don’t attack. But I knew if guys were five or ten seconds off the back, by the time we reach the bottom it could be one minute.”
Six riders remained out front from the day’s breakaway, including the stage winner Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep Floors). Martin was best of the overall contenders, winning the sprint for seventh. His display shows that he has recovered well from his crash last week.
The Tour continues with two days ending in summit finishes. These should suit Martin, and give him an opportunity to try to improve from his current overall placing of 17th.
“The next two days are going to be brutal and I’ll see how my legs are,” he said. “But I expect a lot more attacks tomorrow.”
