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Volta ao Algarve leader Dani Martínez and his Bora-Hansgrohe came through a fraught sprint finale on stage 3 with the Colombian’s leadership of the race intact, but after the stage, Martínez preferred to keep his feet on the ground regarding his options of remaining in yellow after Saturday’s time trial.
When he heads down the start ramp of Saturday’s rolling 22.5-kilometre time trial around the coastal town of Albufeira, Martínez morale will doubtless be boosted by the knowledge that last year it was his performance against the clock in Algarve, placing fourth, which sealed his overall victory.
It is true that a four-second advantage on overwhelming favourite Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) would be a narrow lead in anyone’s book, and with plenty of other top names in the mix like Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and last year’s TT winner Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), the Colombian will need to produce an outstanding time trial to remain in the lead.
Yet as a four-times Colombian National TT Champion, as well as having the advantage of starting last, Martínez can by no means be ruled out of the battle.
“I’ve done some good time trials, but Remco and Van Aert are specialists in this,” Martínez claimed, “we’ll see.”
Asked by Cyclingnews if longer time trials were more to his liking, the 27-year-old was equally non-committal, saying, “If you have the legs, it doesn’t really matter that much if it’s a 20-kilometre course or 40 kilometres. I do know that it’s a demanding time trial with a lot of short climbs and descents, a tough route.”
“I’m in good condition, and I’m motivated for tomorrow.”
Martínez already did a recon of the TT before the race, he told Cyclingnews, riding around the course several times, “so, I know what to expect.”
“I’ve been putting in a lot of work with the time trial bike for the Nationals, too, back home in Colombia, and I like the bike a lot.”
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, he said, the time trial in the Algarve is also a good opportunity to try out TT material for the upcoming stage races in his 2024 campaign, with the Giro d’Italia his first Grand Tour of the season.
And rather than wondering now how much time he might lose or gain against a star name like Evenepoel, he was focused on his own performance rather than making predictions.
“That’s not in my head at all. It’s the kind of time trial is about going flat out and seeing what I can achieve and once I know that, I’ll plan out my strategy for the final day.”
