Daniel Martin didn't know what to expect of yesterday's Il Lombardia but the Irishman exceeded own expectations when he finished 4th in the race. An unfortunate crash in the final turn denied him the chance to finish on the podium but he remained happy with the outcome of the race.

Dan Martin was highly ambitious for the final part of the season but several crashes denied him the chance to show his talents in some of major late-season targets. He crashed out of both the Vuelta a Espana and the Worlds road race and despite getting a confidence boost in Wednesday's Milan-Turin, he took to the start line in yesterday's Il Lombardia with doubts over his condition.

Martin exceeded his own expectations when he made it into a three-rider group that was in pursuit of eventual winner Joaquim Rodriguez on the descent from the final climb Villa Vergano. Alejandro Valverde got away on the downhill section and so Martin and Rafal Majka were left to battle it out for the final spot on the podium.

Being the superior sprinter, Martin had all the cards on his hand when he entered the final corner but his string of crashes had not come to an end. He went down in the rainy conditions and had to remount quickly just to hold off a fast-approaching Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) to take 4th.

"Majka drifted his back wheel and I pedaled and my back wheel came around," he explained to Cyclingnews. "We both slid, and he held it up but I didn't."

He was full of praise of Rodriguez' winning move but may regret his decision to let Valverde get clear on the descent.

"[Rodriguez] was so strong on the climb," Martin said. "I was riding with Valverde on the downhill and Majka was sitting on us. I tried to make Majka go through and we lost the wheel of Valverde."

The result could have been better for Martin but given his pre-race doubts, he was happy with the outcome.

"I'm super happy with what I did today," he said. "I haven't raced 240 kilometers since Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I was surprised how I rode and the team rode fantastic for me. I rode far and away better than I thought I would."

Martin will make use of his great form in the Tour of Beijing and the Japan Cup before bringing his season to a close.