Tour de France: Dan Martin warns of fireworks to come after cautious stage to Epernay
Dan Martin summed up the sentiments of every overall contender at this year’s Tour de France after the high-speed, hilly finish in Epernay at the end of stage 3 on Monday.
The UAE Team Emirates team leader finished in the front group of 50 riders but had to fight for that result after a tense last hour of racing in the hills of the champagne region. Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) gained five seconds on them all when defending champion Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) struggled to hold the wheels on the steep climb, but for everyone with overall ambitions, it was important to limit any losses and finish the stage close to their rivals.
"I think everyone's happy to get through it and get another stage down. We’re three days into this Tour de France, and every day we’ve had something different thrown at us,” Martin told Cyclingnews as he spun out the pain of the day from his legs on the rollers outside the UAE Team Emirates bus.
Martin sits 1:28 down on Alaphilippe after the Frenchman won alone in Epernay. UAE Team Emirates lost 43 seconds to Team Ineos in Sunday’s team time trial and Martin is now 48 seconds behind Bernal. Every other overall contender is closer but within reach.
"The TTT and time loss is what it is," Martin said philosophically. "I'm actually proud of how the boys rode; we’ve not done much TTT work and we’ve got four climbers and two sprinters in our line-up. We lack that big-engine specialist, so we lost less time, but we actually did better than in 2018."
The finish in Epernay, with the rollercoaster finale through the vineyards and then the steep kick-up to the finish, was a lot like an Ardennes Classic, where Martin thrives thanks to his natural aggression and climbing ability.
Fireworks on La Planche des Belles Filles
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