Dan Martin continued his strong showing in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in Spain on Saturday, netting a fine fifth on the uphill finish at Alcala-Alcocebre. He crossed the line four seconds behind the stage winner Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), who lead in world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
Martin’s strong performance on the final ramp to the finish saw him continue his day-by-day progression up the general classification. He finished tenth on the opening day time trial, improved to ninth on Thursday, rose to seventh overall on Friday and now sits fourth in the standings with just one day to go.
Ion Izagirre Insausti (Astana Pro Team) is best overall, seven seconds clear of Valverde. Martin is 16 seconds back and showing impressive form at this early part of the season.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (2.1)
Stage 4, Vila-Real to Alcala-Alcocebre: 1, Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 188 kilometres in 4 hours 54 mins 57 secs; 2, A. Valverde (Movistar Team) same time; 3, P. Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Astana Pro Team) at 2 secs; 4, I. Izagirre Insausti (Astana Pro Team) same time; 5, D. Martin (UAE Team Emirates) at 4 secs; 6, S. Andres Higuita Garcia (Equipo Euskadi) at 5 secs
General Classification after stage 4: 1, Ion Izagirre Insausti (Astana Pro Team) 14 hours 18 mins 27 secs; 2, A. Valverde (Movistar Team) at 7 secs; 3, P. Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Astana Pro Team) same time; 4, D. Martin (UAE Team Emirates) at 16 secs; 5, D. Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) at 18 secs; 6, J. Herrada (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 29 secs
