Has Dan Martin the team to get him to the mountains in Tour De France?
With the World Cup in Russia reaching its climax, thousands of kilometres across the continent another iconic global sporting event will commence in Vendée, France tomorrow as 176 of the fittest athletes on the planet, including one Irishman, roll out to cover 3,329 kilometres over 21 stages. It can only be the Tour de France.
Irish hopes for the race will rest firmly on the shoulders of Dan Martin. Now 31, the sole Irish participant is in his best years as an athlete and will be poised to build on his strong sixth-place finish in 2017. Especially since he achieved this result with two fractured vertebrae.
With his back and body in full health, the Team UAE rider is upbeat about his chances.
“It’s really a race of two halves and the first nine days will be very tricky bringing different challenges each day, but I’m confident we have a great team that can get me to the mountains in a good position to have a bit of fun. Everything has gone well since the Dauphine and I’m just looking forward to getting started.”
After an emphatic solo stage victory in France at the Criterium du Dauphine, a key preparation race for the Tour, it is clear that Martin is in good form.
“Since I signed for Team UAE the big goal has been the Tour de France,” Martin said when the team was confirmed.
“I plan to take the race day by day, stage by stage, and try to achieve the best results possible.”
The main weakness for the Irishman, as has been the case for several seasons, will be his team. Though he will be the outright leader of the UAE team in the mountain stages he will share team captaincy with Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff on the flat stages — a less than ideal scenario for a rider of his calibre.
Though Martin has been able to fend for himself in past Tours, with a full cobblestone stage as well as a team time trial on the cards, this year’s route favours the riders with stronger team support.
With two top-10s in previous editions of the Tour it is by no means inconceivable that Martin could make the step-up to the podium. In doing so he would be the first Irishman to grace the winner’s podium since his uncle Stephen Roche won the maillot jaune in 1987.
Despite the race organisers publicly stating less than a week ago that they would prohibit Chris Froome from starting the race, the four-time champion will take to the start-line after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) cleared him of any wrongdoing in his Salbutamol case.
Froome will undoubtedly be the overall favourite when the race rolls out of the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. However, much like the early part of the season, the road to Paris is set to be a bumpy one in more ways than one for the Kenyan-born rider. There are genuine concerns for his safety, both from the rider and the authorities.
More than 30,000 security agents are set to be deployed by the French police and the head of the International cycling union (UCI) David Lappartient has called for fans to be respectful.
“I have heard calls, sometimes completely irrational, to violence on the Tour de France,” said Lappartient.
“I cannot accept that and I call on all spectators to protect all the athletes and to respect the judicial decision so that Chris Froome can compete in a safe and serene environment like all other athletes.”
Froome himself has called on his detractors to get behind the race in positive ways.
“My advice to anyone who doesn’t like me or doesn’t like Sky is to come and watch the race with some other shirt, of someone you do like, and support the Tour in that way.”
History and logic would indicate that Froome, who little over a month ago made history by winning back-to-back Grand tours at the Vuelta España and the Giro D’italia, should be too fatigued, both physically and mentally, to win his fifth Tour.
His greatest rival and personal friend, Richie Porte (BMC) was keen to echo this point in the pre-tour press conference:
“It was nice to watch him win the Giro but I hope he’s buggered,” joked the Australian who comes into the race off the back of his victory in the Tour du Suisse.
“Chris went to the Giro with a super strong team and comes here with arguably a stronger team. If anyone can do it, perhaps he can. I know that team, I rode there; he’s here with the goal of winning it. He’s done the work. I just hope he’s tired. Guys like Vincenzo (Nibali) and Nairo (Quintana) will never give him an easy time if he has a bad day.”
With or without Froome, no matter what happens over the coming three weeks — plenty of entertainment is sure to ensue before July 29 when the winner will be crowned on the Champs-Élysées.
<p class="orangeheader">Tour talking points</p>
He defied the odds back in May to comfortably win the Giro D’Italia. The combination of fatigue from that victory and the undoubted stress he has endured over his legal battle may take its toll. He will no doubt face backlash from the French public and stronger competition for the win. Despite this it is still hard to look past the Briton who has been untouchable in this race in the past.
Ten years on from his first victory in the Tour de France, Cavendish has arguably had the finest career of any sprinter in the modern era. The Manxman has had a disastrous season up until now — three crashes in three consecutive races have meant his preparation for this Tour has been less than ideal. However, a wealth of experience and a strong Dimension Data team fully behind him will mean the 33-year-old will be confident of adding to his tally of 30 stage victories, something only the legendary Eddy Merckx has done.
If there is one stage not to be missed in the first two weeks it is stage nine. Of the 154km to be tackled, there will be 15 sectors (21.7km) of unpaved dirt roads.
Punctures, crashes and crosswinds on this stage are sure to leave a big mark on the overall race.
<p class="orangeheader">Three to watch </p>
The world champion comes in with a point to prove after his disqualification from the 2017 Tour due to an altercation with Mark Cavendish. Expect numerous stage victories from the charismatic Slovak. The clear favourite to win the green jersey.
Despite only taking up the sport in 2012, the 26-year-old former ski-jumping world champion has made a seamless transition to professional cycling. The Slovenian has taken seven victories already this season and may challenge for the podium if let fly under the radar of the main favourites.
The youngest rider in the race at just 21, Bernal will serve as Froome’s understudy and top ‘domestique’ in the mountains.
What he lacks in experience he makes up for in talent — a world class climber and a strong time trialist, the Colombian is widely tipped to be the next great champion in world cycling.
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