Three-time world time trial champion Tony Martin has announced he intends to attempt the Hour Record in 2015, as long as the preparation does not affect his goals on the road.
The Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider told German website Radsport-News the Hour is on his agenda and is confident the people around him at the Belgian team will be able to help him balance his 2015 targets.
“I will discuss it with my team in December so that we can implement it without my goals on the road being affected,” he said. “That is the essential factor.
“I need to find time to prepare without affecting my road shape. Since I have capable people around me, and a team that supports me, I think that we will find a date in the coming year.”
And Martin admits that Wiggins holds the upper hand in the battle, with the Englishman targeting few races on the road in the coming year.
Wiggins’ experience on the track will also be a factor, and Martin says he will have to test himself on the wooden boards to see if he has what it takes to mount a serious challenge.
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“Above all, his advantage from the outset is already infinitely large, in terms of experience. He comes from the track,” Martin continued. “I am sure that I will need more time to adapt than he will. Maybe two, three or four experiments will be needed to find the punch that he will have. But I want to work on it, and after the first training on the track I will be able to tell if it is realistic or not.”
Martin lost his world championship jersey to his British rival in Ponferrada in September, but insists the setback has simply spurred him on even more to regain the title in 2015, when Wiggins is unlikely to participate.
“The disappointment gave way pretty rapidly to the fighting spirit and motivation to try for the jersey next year,” Martin said. “I was tired and had miscalculated something. I should have had the courage to gap. But I learned from it, and it is better that this is happening now than before the Olympic Games.
“I will correct the faults and show to everyone next year that I am the best.”
Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.
