AS THE Giro d’Italia begins in Belfast tomorrow, Birmingham Irish rider Dan Martin will be targeting a top-10 finish in the grand tour.
"The Giro is an amazing race, a beautiful race, and the whole character of the race suits me," Martin told The Guardian
"This will be Dan's first full-on attempt at the overall classification and it will be a big experience for him," said his Garmin Sharp directeur sportif, Charly Wegelius.
Martin, the nephew of 1987 Giro winner Stephen Roche is a throwback to the days when cyclists competed on instinct and less on power data and rigid tactics.
"I like winning. I like racing. It's an instinct inside me. David Millar [Garmin Sharp teammate] said to me that I am an actual bike racer and that's rare these days. A lot of young riders ride like Team Sky, on their power figures. I don't even have a power meter on my bike. I never look at power, never train by power. I race a lot on instinct and feeling."
Speaking about his Tour de France stage victory in the Pyrenees last summer, Martin said: "I didn't even think about it; it just happened. I was just like: 'Yup, this feels right.' It's been the same my whole career. I don't think I've ever been the strongest rider in a race but I've won quite a few races because I had to learn how to beat guys tactically when I was younger rather than just using horsepower. A lot of young guys are so strong at a young age they just win on that."
Unlike most modern riders, who target specific races in the year and spend a lot of time training with a view towards peaking towards those goals, Martin competes throughout the year. Again, his approach is throwback days passed.
"I prefer to race all year until October. I do enjoy training but not for long periods," he said. "I love one-day races and you don't get the explosiveness I've got, that made me win the Tour stage last year, from altitude training for example."
