Ireland's Dan Martin made a big indication that he means business in the Tour de France, finishing a strong second on the toughest stage thus far in the race and jumping up the general classification to fourth behind defending champion Chris Froome, who took the stage and the yellow jersey in dramatic fashion.
Martin was one of the strongest riders on the final climb of the Col de Pyresourde and was part of a chase group which finished behind Froome after the Briton attacked on the descent.
Martin led that group into Bagnères-de-Luchon, beating Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) and 10 others to the line. They were 13 seconds behind Froome.
Martin picked up a six second time bonus for second and this, plus the time gained over some others, moved him from 10th to fourth overall in the general classification.
“There’s no easy day at the Tour de France and we saw that again today,” Martin said afterwards. “I knew I had good legs at the start. I was feeling good after yesterday and was really comfortable.
“Julian [his team-mate Julian Alaphilippe] gave everything to help me on the first climb, so chapeau to him. I remained calm at all times and was well-positioned on a day which saw everybody test each other.
“When Chris attacked and took a handful of seconds, we chased but couldn’t bring him back. What matters is that I am in fine form, a reward of the hard training I’ve done on the climbs before the Tour. I am happy with the way things are going for me in the GC, and hopefully a win is just around the corner.”
He is now 17 seconds behind new leader Froome heading into Sunday’s stage to Andorra.
Martin lives in the principality that straddles the borders of France and Spain and is fired up to shine on the final climb to the line. He won a stage in the 2013 Tour and, in addition to aiming for a high general classification result, wants to nab another stage victory.
Meanwhile, Sam Bennett continues to recover from his crash on stage one. He finished with the sprinters’ group on Saturday and remains in the race. He told the Irish Times at the start of the stage that he is gradually feeling better and hopes to be able to seize a sprinting opportunity later in the race.
In Froome’s previous Tour wins in 2013 and 2015, he took control of the general classification battle by winning the first summit finish of the race, but here he made his move a day early as he chose the long descent off the last of the day’s four categorised climbs.
As Movistar’s Nairo Quintana reached to grab a water bottle at the summit, Froome burst clear and he showed his was willing to take risks on the 16km descent to the line.
Hunched over his bike but still pedalling, the 31-year-old barrelled down the mountain at speeds topping 80kmh as he edged further and further clear of the chasing pack, with his lead reaching 22 seconds before falling slightly on the flat.
“It wasn’t really planned,” Froome said. “I thought I’d give it a try in the downhill as the few tries on the climb didn’t work out. They were sticking to us. So I decided to give it a go in the descent. It was cool.
“Bike racing is just fun, but maybe I spent a little bit too much. Tomorrow is a hard stage but I take every second I can. It’s just a really good feeling to win. The guys rode all day so I did it for them.”
