Dan Martin: 'It works in my favour that the Tour GC is so close'

Dan Martin was the only rider of the Tour de France general classification favourites to gain time on race leader Chris Froome on stage 15

Daniel Martin in the 2017 Tour de France.

(Image credit: Yuzuru Sunada)

Ireland's Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) says that this close Tour de France classification battle – six riders within around one minute of the lead – works in his favour.

He gained 14 seconds on Froome and his rivals in the Massif Central stage 15 to Le Puy-en-Velay on Sunday with a late attack. His solo move, at 5.7 kilometres to race, saw him overtake Sky's Mikel Landa for fifth place overall.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.