IT MAY HAVE been the biggest win of his life – and arguably the one that gave him the most satisfaction after a truly luckless season, but Dan Martin’s arrival back to his home city last night couldn’t have been more subdued.
After a half glass of Guinness to celebrate, Dan’s father Neil, a former professional, collected the 2014 Tour of Lombardy winner close to midnight in an empty arrivals hall at Girona airport.
From there, they went home where close family and a few friends had gathered to welcome him back.
Today, it’s back to business for Dan as he flies to Beijing via Paris for China’s showpiece stage race (10th-14th), but the 28-year-old did offer a few words on what was a truly remarkable day for Irish cycling.
“This year has been a difficult one for me,” a clearly exhausted and relieved Martin told TheScore.ie in relation to the crashes that denied him a medal at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April and a real cut off the Giro d’Italia in May. “I crashed in the Vuelta a España too. Also in the world championships last week.”
Difficult indeed, but he always kept the faith and knew his luck would change.
“I’m always positive,” he said. “I thought that after a difficult year, it’s easier to be motivated and to train hard. A lot of people get tired mentally. I didn’t want to finish the season without a victory. I was really focused after the Vuelta a España, and now I have my first win of 2014. And it’s a big one. I always believed and the team always believed in me all the way; that the luck would change and we’d get the big victory. To win this is incredible,” he added.
Looking back on yesterday, what made it even more special was the manner in which he outgunned his rivals, many of whom occupy the top places in the world rankings, though Martin would most likely be there too had injury not robbed him of a chance at many more races.
“I had planned to attack on the last climb, but I couldn’t get through, there was too many people. And the guys were going so hard anyway. And then I saw Philippe Gilbert and Michael Albasini (in the lead group) and obviously they are very fast. And then Alejandro (Valverde)… I knew I had to try something and the opportunity happened.”
Approaching the 500m to go sign, Martin darted down the right side of the group and managed to get a gap which the others were reluctant to chase. And that moment of hesitation was all Martin required.
“It was pretty similar to when I won a stage on the Vuelta,” he said of his 2009 stage 9 victory in Spain.
“There was just this much gap and I got through it as Philippe was closing it. Once I got the gap, it was so close to the line I just had to go as hard as I could and not crash on the last corner like at Liege.
“Lombardia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are my two favourite races of the year. I just love these long races and getting eighth in 2009 was when I first realised I could perhaps win it. In my career I always wanted to win three races: Lombardia, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne. Now there’s only one left and I was close to Flèche this year.”
