Dan Martin slipped one place to fifth overall in the Volta a Catalunya on Thursday, conceding time to the main contenders on the tough final climb to La Molina. Following his third place on Wednesday, he said that he hoped to chase the victory on stage four. Instead, he found himself further off the pace than the previous day, most likely as he is still building form.
The stage’s big animator was the Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team), who attacked repeatedly and managed to drop the other contenders. He bridged across to breakaway riders Gregor Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Marc Soler (Movistar Team), then pushed on with Soler before dropping the Spaniard.
He soloed in 16 seconds clear of the other two riders, with Egan Bernal (Team Sky) and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) latching on to the back of that duo crossing the line and thus being awarded the same time. Yates had led the race overall but his performance was not enough to prevent Lopez from grabbing the white leader’s jersey.
He is now 14 seconds clear of Yates and 17 up on Bernal. Martin slips one place from fourth to fifth overall, and is now 46 seconds back.
“The team worked very well today again,” he said. “I was good, but my rivals are very strong. We started the climb at a high pace; when the attacks started I didn’t have the legs to stay with my direct rivals.”
Bigger priority
Martin won the race overall in 2013, and went on to take the prestigious Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one of the Ardennes Classics. Those races are a bigger priority for him than the Volta a Catalunya, but a stage win or strong overall finish would give him the confidence he needs heading towards those events.
Although overall victory in this week’s race is now very unlikely, Martin can take encouragement from how he is feeling compared to last season. Twelve months ago he had a best stage placing of 19th and finished back in 38th place. This time around he is clearly in better shape. He also has the additional motivation of being in a contract year, and thus chasing a new deal for 2020.
Martin is Ireland’s best stage race rider. He won stage six of last year’s Tour de France and took eighth overall. He was sixth in the final standings in 2017, and believes he has the ability to finish on the final podium in Paris. At 32 years of age, though, he knows that each passing season will now decrease the chances of that, and so needs to seize the opportunity in France this July.
Volta a Catalunya (WorldTour)
Stage 4, Llanars (Vall De Camprodon) to La Molina: 1, Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) 150.3km in 4 hours 2 mins 7 secs; 2, G. Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 16 secs; 3, M. Soler (Movistar Team); 4, E. Bernal (Team Sky); 5, A. Yates (Mitchelton-Scott); 6, N. Quintana (Movistar Team) at 19 secs
Irish: 11, D. Martin (UAE Team Emirates) at 42 secs
General classification after Stage 4: 1, Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) 17 hours 31 mins 5 secs; 2, A. Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) at 14 secs; 3, E. Bernal (Team Sky) at 17 secs; 4, N. Quintana (Movistar Team) at 25 secs; 5, D. Martin (UAE Team Emirates) at 46 secs; 6, S. Kruijswijk (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 56 secs
