Martin eighth as Sagan grabs glory

Ireland’s Dan Martin started his maiden Tour de France with a superb 8th place finish on the opening road stage from Liège to Seraing yesterday.

Martin told the Irish Examiner on Saturday that his ambition for the opening week was to stay out of trouble but take whatever chances presented themselves, and he stayed true to that when he found himself towards the front as the race reached its final few hundred metres yesterday.

Though he was aggressive, the Dubliner didn’t have the legs of Slovakian sprint sensation Peter Sagan, who took a fine win ahead of Swiss powerhouse Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling).