Dan Martin: 'Being second strongest on the hardest summit finish of the Tour de France is pretty special'
Irishman aimed to chase Quintana in the final kilometre but altitude damaged his hopes
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Dan Martin said he was proud of himself and his UAE Team Emirates team after he finished second to Nairo Quintana on the Col de Portet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
Still shaking with the effort of chasing the Colombian to the 2,215-metre summit, Martin explained that he’d treated the ascent as a time trial, riding at his own tempo with the aim of keeping Quintana within reach and then trying to catch him in the final kilometre.
"The altitude got me at the end. I think living at 2,800 metres probably helps him," said Martin with a rueful smile.
"I planned to attack earlier. That’s why we put Darwin [Atapuma] and Kristijan [Durasek] in the break. I wanted to go on the Col d’Azet, but there was so much wind on those early climbs and you get so much help from being on the wheel that it just wasn’t worth it. I had good legs and thought I could do a good last climb," said Martin, who decided to take advantage of Sky easing back on their tempo in the first kilometre of the Col de Portet.
"Nairo came with me and I think he wanted to ride together, but he just rode so hard at the bottom. I just wanted to ride at my own tempo, so I just turned it into a time trial.
"I was trying to keep him to 10-15 seconds and normally over the last 500 metres I can close that gap," said the UAE team leader.
"But I had a bad kilometre between about four and three to go and he just managed to pull that gap out and I couldn’t close it in the end."
Martin acknowledged Quintana was the better man on the day, but was still very satisfied with his effort.
"I’m really proud of how the team rode and how I rode as well," Martin added. "It’s pretty special to get second in a mountain top finish like that and especially one where the strongest rider finished first. Being second strongest on the hardest mountain top finish of the Tour de France is pretty special."
Martin, who revealed that his first experience of the Tour was as a spectator on the Col d’Azet during the Pla d’Adet stage of the 1999 race, said his whole race could have gone very differently if he hadn’t lost two-and-a-half minutes due to an untimely puncture and a crash late on in stage eight to Amiens.
"But then again you can never look back and I’m really proud of how I’ve managed to get this consistency over three weeks, to still be strong in the third week. To win in the first week and to almost win in the third week with a crash in the middle shows that I can handle three weeks of really hard racing in the Tour de France," he said.
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Peter Cossins has been writing about professional cycling since 1993, with his reporting appearing in numerous publications and websites including Cycling Weekly, Cycle Sport and Procycling - which he edited from 2006 to 2009. Peter is the author of several books on cycling - The Monuments, his history of cycling's five greatest one-day Classic races, was published in 2014, followed in 2015 by Alpe d’Huez, an appraisal of cycling’s greatest climb. Yellow Jersey - his celebration of the iconic Tour de France winner's jersey won the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Cycling Book of the Year Award.
-
-
Remco Evenepoel sends verbal warning to his 'idol' Primož Roglič after quadruple Volta a Catalunya showdown
It's 2-1 to Roglič after a neck-and-neck fight at the Volta a Catalunya, but Evenepoel isn't short of confidence
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
How E3 showed us what Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pogačar need to do to win the Tour of Flanders
Wout van Aert might have won on Friday, but everything could change next Sunday
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Tom Boonen invited to test Colnago V4Rs after criticism of Tadej Pogačar's bike
Boonen and fellow ex-pro Dirk de Wolf invited to Italy for a "public conversation" on the data they used to make claim that bike hindered two-time Tour de France champion
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Molano sprints to stage four victory at UAE Tour to save UAE Team Emirates' race
Colombian rider wins stage for home team at fourth opportunity, as Remco Evenepoel continues in race lead
By Adam Becket • Published
-
All the 2023 kits: EF Education-EasyPost share latest collaboration with Rapha
American WorldTour team become latest to release their new 2023 kit, here's the rest
By Adam Becket • Published
-
From Grand Tour victories to gold medals: The nine best signings of 2022
We look back at the signings that made the biggest impacts during this year's season
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Alpecin-Deceuninck confirm Jay Vine move to UAE Team Emirates
The Australian previously hinted that he'd remain with the Belgian team in 2023
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Tadej Pogačar is still the best rider in the world, right?
16 wins, a third monument, but second at the Tour de France sums up his 2022
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Adam Yates leaves Ineos Grenadiers for UAE Team Emirates
British rider agrees three year deal with new team
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Remco Evenepoel wins maiden grand tour at Vuelta a España
Juan Sebastián Molano takes a surprise final stage win after a messy sprint in Madrid
By Owen Rogers • Published