After a turbulent season dotted with disappointments but ending on a high, Dan Martin is seeking to replicate his 2013 blueprint in the coming year.
The Irish pro rider is eschewing the all-or-nothing approach he took in 2014, one which saw him base everything around being at a peak for the Giro d'Italia in May but then losing all when he crashed on day one, fracturing his collarbone.
Now, heading towards the new season, he is adopting a wider spread of ambitions. The plan is to aim for general success across a range of events prior to what he hopes will be a best-ever Tour de France.
"Aiming for Giro, I was trying to hold myself back in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Cataluña, not wanting to peak too early," he explained to The Irish Times, describing the pared-back approach of 2014. "This year, I'm really looking forward to being able to go out into the first races and just go for it from the start.
“Of course, the Ardennes Classics [in April] are a big focus, as they are every year. If you win any of them it makes for a very successful spring campaign. Even just to be on the podium again in Liège-Bastogne-Liège or Flèche Wallone would be incredible.
“I just have to keep my head down, not take it for granted that I will be in the front and really put in the hard graft again.”
Bouncing back
Martin has topped the podium in week-long stage races and Classics in the past, winning the Volta a Catalunya and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2013 and this season bouncing back from an injury-affected year to win the Il Lombardia Classic in October.
His natural strengths set him up for success in both types of events. He is both a very proficient climber and also a punchy rider when it comes to sharp, sudden efforts, including sprints from a small group.
Those combined attributes mark him out as someone who can excel again in his spring targets and, having won Liège before and placed second and fourth in the 2014 and 2012 Flèche Wallonne races, he will be one of the most feared when it comes to those hilly one-day events.
Liège defence
Martin is conscious, though, that getting into top shape is just half of the battle. Last April, he appeared to be in prime position to successfully defend his Liège title, attacking on the final climb and rapidly closing in on the lone leader
Giampaolo Caruso
of the Katusha team.
However, his wheel skittered out from under him on the final corner and he splatted to the road, losing his chance in that unfortunate fall. Simon Gerrans won the sprint from the chasing group, overhauling Caruso to win.
Martin limped in 39th, his chances evaporating in that instant.
Despite that disappointment, he retains his affection for the Classic and others like it.
“Obviously, in one-day races luck is crucial,” he said, discussing the things than can go wrong at vital points. “Tactically you can make one mistake and you can lose the whole race. It’s always a crash in a wrong moment that can have a big effect, like what happened with [the Spaniard Joaquim] Rodriguez last year.
“He crashed in Amstel and crashed again in Flèche. With just a bit of bad luck the whole week goes down the drain.
“But it’s what I love about the one-day races . . . that element of luck and tactics. They are definitely a target; they are races I am good at.”
Martin’s Giro d’Italia crash came less than two weeks later and had more serious consequences. He hit a manhole cover during the opening team time trial in Belfast and clattered to an abrupt halt, with several team-mates falling like skittles.
The fractured collarbone he suffered marked the first broken bone of his career and saw him undergo surgery, face weeks of rehabilitation and miss the Tour de France.
He admitted being down for some time over the injury and his Giro disappointment, and this is partly why he wants to go for a wider approach in the coming year.
Stage ambition
Martin’s desire to replicate the sustained success he enjoyed in 2013 will, he hopes, see him take another stage win in the Tour de France.
He was victorious on day nine into Bagnères-de-Bigorre, winning a two-man sprint to take his first career triumph in the race.
He admits that he hasn’t really studied the route of next July’s event, saying that his mind is focused for now on earlier targets.
However, he has identified two stages early on that end in short, steep climbs and which could suit him perfectly. He knows that winning one of those would set his Cannondale-Garmin team up for a very successful campaign.
“Obviously we have the Mur de Huy and the Mur de Bretagne in the first 10 days and they are two finishes that very much do suit me,” he said.
“That really motivates me, especially the Mur de Huy on stage three. It’s not just a question of personal ambition; it would take the pressure off the entire team and I think it sets the guys up for an incredible race if you can be successful that early in the Tour.
“That will obviously be an objective because in the past couple of years I have been one of the best up the Mur de Huy finish in Flèche Wallonne.
“Obviously racing the Tour de France is a different kettle of fish, but I will definitely be very motivated on that stage.”
Chasing high finish
If those days go well and his form is strong, he’ll also likely chase a high overall finish.
Part of his fight back from the Giro disappointment in 2014 saw him finish a fine seventh overall in the Vuelta a España.
It was his best general classification performance to date in a Grand Tour and proves that he now has the consistency to chase a high overall place in the Tour de France.
That progression twinned with a Tour route aimed at the climbers could result in a very strong campaign.
However, before then, he wants to make the most of every opportunity to clock up victories in other races. Quality and quantity are both important in 2015.
