Tour de France: High-flying Dan Martin not letting focus waiver

He went into the race aiming for a top-ten overall and exits the first block third in the general classification. Dan Martin still has 12 stages to go before Paris but, thus far, everything is going superbly in his fourth Tour de France.

The Irishman lives in Andorra and has a liking for the French Pyrenees, having won a Tour stage there in 2013.

He used both associations to strong effect on Saturday and Sunday, drawing on his knowledge of both regions to further fuel his motivation.

Those factors paid off in spades, with second-place finish on Saturday’s leg to Bagnères-de-Luchon seeing him climb to fourth overall; then in Sunday’s race to Andorra Arcalis, Martin improved that placing another notch still.

Despite being in a podium position in the sport’s biggest race, however, he is keen to play down expectations for now. The aim is to keep the pressure off at this point, while also pushing hard in the upcoming mountains.

Good condition

“When we came into the race, I didn’t have any expectations,” he said on Monday’s rest day.

“I knew I was in good condition from the Critérium du Dauphiné, where I was climbing with the best.

“I was also aware that many things can happen in the first week, which is always very stressful, but the guys did a fantastic job and kept me out of trouble. Fortunately, I now find myself in this excellent position.”

Starting the race, Chris Froome (Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) were clear favourites to emerge victorious by virtue of Froome's two Tour titles already and Quintana's runner-up slot in 2013 and 2015.

However, Martin is very close at this point. He went into Monday’s first rest day just 19 seconds adrift of Froome and four ahead of Quintana.

Few would have predicted that before the race and this showing, as well as his third overall in last month’s Critérium du Dauphiné, illustrates how much progress he has made in the past 12 months.

As Martin told The Irish Times before the Tour, moving to Andorra last year has been a big part of that improvement.

He is living at a much higher altitude than when he resided in Girona and also does much more training in the mountains.

Both factors have come into play in the Tour and have helped him when taking on the big contenders.

Strong backing

Moving teams after eight years with the Garmin/Cannondale squad has also helped press a reset button, and his Etixx-Quick-Step squad have given him strong backing in his Tour campaign.

The Belgian outfit has more horsepower than the American team did and this should help him to defend his current position in the race.

Martin knows he has the squad’s backing and will draw encouragement from that. He’s also believes that not getting too worked up about the general classification is a key to the best possible showing.

“Racing the Tour a few times in the past helped me choose the best approach for this edition,” he said.

“I separated myself mentally from all the frenzy that surrounds it and this helped me take the pressure off. The best thing is to take it day by day and don’t think too much about the future.

“Okay, I’m third at the moment, but that doesn’t mean anything. I won’t get carried away and begin thinking of finishing on the podium. If next week I’m in the same position, then maybe we will sit down and talk about my chances of coming on in the top three.”

The next two days will see him focus on saving energy and staying out of trouble. Tuesday’s stage to Revel and Wednesday’s leg to Montpellier will likely finish in group sprints, but Thursday and Friday are different.

The mountain finish to Mont Ventoux and the 37 kilometre time trial to La Caverne du Pont-d’Arc will both be crucial for Martin and his podium chances.