Dan Martin uncertain of form ahead of Catalunya defence

Starting his defence of the Volta a Catalunya title he took last year, Dan Martin has said that he is uncertain of his form but isn’t ruling out taking another victory in the WorldTour stage race.

The Garmin-Sharp rider, who joined 1984 and 1986 champion Seán Kelly as the only Irish victor in the Spanish event, took overall success in 2013 and then went on to win the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic plus a mountain stage in the Tour de France.

He had a later-than-usual start to the season this year and as a result is still building form. Martin finished 55th in Tirreno Adriatico and, acknowledging that placing was further back than he was anticipating, said that the days ahead will show if he can step things up in time.

"Tirreno was the perfect race to get the legs going," he told The Irish Times. "Obviously it didn't go amazingly well for me, I got a bit sick with stomach problems on the mountain stages. My legs were good but I just couldn't really eat and drink very much.

'Feels good'
"That inhibits your performance. But everything feels good again and we will see what happens in this next week."

Martin will be up against a host of big name riders, including Tour de France champion Chris Froome (Sky), Tour runner-up Nairo Quintana (Movistar), 2007 and 2009 Tour winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo), Paris-Nice victor Carlos Betancur (Ag2r La Mondiale), Vuelta a España champion Chris Horner (Lampre-Merida) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), who was Martin’s closest rival last year.

Several of those have already won this year and because of that, plus their past career results, he sees them as big threats.

'Calibre of rider'
"Obviously with the calibre of riders going into the race, I won't be seen as a top favourite," he said, but explained why that isn't an issue for him.

“The underdog status really suits us well, both me and the team.

“It is going to be a very tactical race this week. Obviously with Saxo, Movistar and Sky being the strongest teams, they have got big cards to play. We can kind of hide in the shadows a little bit.

“We will just wait and see how the race pans out, and then use that strength to good effect.

“As always, I don’t really feel pressure or anything. I am just going to enjoy the week. I have the chance to ride a WorldTour race with number one on my back as defending champion and have a chance of a stage finish in my adopted home town (Girona). It is going to be pretty special.”

Whether or not he is in contention, he believes he is on track for his prime goal in May.

“Last year I obviously went into this race as one of my big objectives. This year, the Giro d’Italia is my big objective. Because of that, I am a bit further behind than I was last year. But I have always performed well in Catalunya and it is a race I love.”