A perfectly timed lone attack in the closing moments of the 15th stage helped Ireland’s Dan Martin move up to fifth position overall going into the final week of the Tour de France.
Martin rode well on the day’s climbs on the 189.5 kilometre stage to Le-Puy-en-Vale and, as he did two days ago, launched a strong attack inside the last few kilometres. His timing was again perfect and those behind stalled momentarily, enabling him to move clear. He then rode hard from there to the finish, catching some riders from the early break and taking 14 seconds out of the other general classification contenders.
As a result the QuickStep Floors rider overtook Mikel Landa (Team Sky) for fifth place, and also narrowed the gap to those in front.
He is now one minute and 12 seconds behind race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky), 54 seconds behind second-placed Fabio Aru (Astana) and 49 seconds adrift of Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale).
Given that he lost one minute and 15 seconds in a crash last Sunday, he would likely otherwise be challenging for the yellow jersey now.
“Everybody was on their limit on the last two climbs. It’s really no surprise, as this week has been brutal,” said Martin. “After the last ascent, I noticed how tired everyone was and how they kept looking at each other, so I said to give it a try.
“I can’t say the plan at the start of the day was to attack, I just seized the opportunity.”
Froome was impressed. “He has ridden a very good race so far. Really clever as well,” said the yellow jersey holder. “I think he has made the right moves at the right times. Today he snuck off the front, caught people by surprise. Chapeau to him, he got some time back on the GC guys.”
Martin’s first cousin Nicolas Roche enjoyed an impressive run on Sunday to finish sixth on the stage.
Dutch rider Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) escaped alone to win the stage, with four riders following him in as part of the next chasing group.
Roche jumped clear inside the final kilometre to nab sixth, one minute back.
Roche was pleased with his ride, not least because he has had several quiet stages.
“I think that the particularity of this Tour de France is that there are so few mountain stages that every single one of them is raced flat out,” he said.
“This one was no different. It was some battle to be in the breakaway. I think the team managed pretty well. At some stage we even had Greg Van Avermaet and Danilo Wyss with us, so we almost had six in that group. We fought very hard to be there and I think we raced well. When they attacked us on the last categorised climb we just couldn’t follow and we rode as hard as we could, the two of us.”
The race now takes a break before recommencing on Tuesday. Martin is still recovering from last Sunday’s crash and expects that his sensations will continue to improve as time passes.
As was the case before the race, his goal is to end up on the podium in Paris.
“I am happy with my legs and now I’m looking forward to the rest day,” he said. “After this, we’ll see what the last week holds and what I can do in the Alps.”
