Sean Kelly: Stage is set for Dan Martin at Tour de France

Irish legend Sean Kelly believes Dan Martin can win “more than one stage” at the Tour de France which starts Saturday in The Netherlands.

Martin is the final year of his Garmin-Cannondale contract and Kelly reckons the 28 year-old will be gunning to impress. “Dan has not had a good start to the season,” said Kelly.

“He didn’t get the form of previous years but the Criterium du Dauphine is a real good indicator of where he’s at and he managed to get seventh overall there. I think he’s just coming right at a good time.”

Kelly continued: “If I was Dan’s team manager I’d tell him go for stages. If he loses five or six minutes on a stage it’s no bad thing because he’s freer to go in a breakaway and try to win a stage.

“You can battle for two and a half weeks for maybe fifth or sixth place and then you slip one place and you’re out of the top five. No one will remember who was sixth in the Tour in six months but everyone will remember you on a stage.”

Kelly continued: “Dan is capable of winning more than one stage. Wut he is under pressure, when you do what he did in 2013 and win a stage and a lot of other big races expectation rises and when the team isn’t performing Dan is the one who’ll be looked at and talked to in the briefings.

“They need a result and they’ll desperately look to Dan.”