A Tour to cherish for gritty Irish duo
Martin, making his debut in the race, has endured more than most, from the low of seeing his two team leaders crash out early on to the high of team-mate David Millar winning a stage.
The 26-year-old has illustrated just why he is a future Grand Tour contender with some thrilling attacks on the slopes of the Pyrenees — one that saw him get into a break with multiple stage winner Thomas Voeckler and Brice Feilliu on Stage 18 as well as the following day where he finished 10th.
He’ll be disappointed he didn’t get a stage win but 7th and 10th on mountain stages as well as 8th on the first road stage confirmed his class.
Roche is unlikely to break into the top 10 but he has bettered his previous best finish of 14th in 2010. Day after day, he has been consistent and almost landed that elusive stage win yesterday. However, if Roche is ever going to match the feats of his father, who won this race 25 years ago, he’ll need to improve his time-trialling.
