Dan Martin: ‘I said I would stop cycling when I stopped enjoying it’
He was true to his word in the end; leaving the sport as soon as he stopped enjoying it.
I first sat down for an interview with Dan Martin in 2011 when the then 25-year old just one of a smattering of English-speaking ex-pats living in the Catalan city of Girona which has become a hub for many of the world’s best athletes.
A decade later and while many of his peers are deep in strict winter training programmes and plotting next year’s race schedules, the 35-year old is taking life a lot easier.
Disneyland and Dubai are just some of the places he and his young family have visited in recent weeks, while he has also enjoyed a first ski lesson in his adopted home of Andorra as he transitions to the life of a ‘normal’ person.
“My life as a professional cyclist already feels like it’s been so long ago,” he reflected.
“My father always said I was an overnight sensation, 10 years in the making. And then it’s over just as quickly.
“But my time was up, I had no more to give and while I could have gone on and finished last in every race for another couple of years, it was never my intention to do that.
“There are so many good, young guys coming into the sport and to have done that would have denied them the same opportunity I had all those years ago.
“Besides, I have a young family and I have sacrificed a lot to remain at the top of the sport. There are moments I won't get back and in the same way as I didn’t want regrets leaving cycling, I also want no regrets as a father.”
It seems like a lifetime ago since Martin's breakthrough win at the Tour of Poland in 2010 when he was only in his second season in the top tier of the sport.
“That win confirmed I had the potential to go a very long way in the sport as a one-day specialist and Grand Tour contender.”
He might have never won a Grand Tour like a Tour de France, a Giro d'Italia, or a Vuelta A Espana, but he is one of just three Irish riders to have claimed stages in each. Not even Sean Kelly or Martin’s uncle Stephen Roche managed such a feat.
“It is something I am very proud of, to be part of that club. The sport has been around for over 100 years so to join Sam Bennett and Shay Elliott is an achievement I will always treasure.”
22 professional wins and 19 Grand Tours completed are numbers he can take pride in, including a GC win at the Volta A Catalunya and Liege-Bastogne-Liege crown in 2013 followed by an Il Lombardia title a year later.
“Aside from those wins, I'm just proud of how I carried myself through it all, staying grounded, staying motivated, trying to be a good ambassador for the sport.
“I had a lot of bad luck as well in my career, crashes and injuries that robbed me of a few more certain wins.
“I never complained or made excuses and like I said to you years ago, I would stop cycling when I stopped enjoying it.”
Though he did well to mask it in his final 12 months, the mental strain of being a professional took a toll on him and that was visible when he broke down after winning a stage of last year’s Vuelta and again in May when he claimed a first Giro stage win.
“At this late stage of my career, I didn't want to take the risks I used to take. It is not worth it. I made a promise to my wife during the Giro this year that I wouldn't crash because it’s never nice for her or my two daughters (twins Daisy and Ella) to see me in pain.
“It feels good leaving the sport on my terms with everything intact.”
The next stages of his career have already commenced and while improving his skiing is among his priorities, he’s one of the founders of London-based sports venture capital fund, an investments and advisory company backed by multiple top-level athletes from different sports.
“I’m excited for what’s ahead,” he said. “Simple things like being there for the girls, going for runs with my wife are all things I can't wait to enjoy.”
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