Dan Martin is a strong outsider for today's Il Lombardia and hopes to finish his European season on a high in the final monument in the season. With horrendous weather conditions expected, the Irishman foresees a big psychological battle between the usual suspects and has set his sights on another strong showing like in 2011 when he finished 2nd in the race.

Daniel Martin crashed out of the Worlds road race and so has attracted little attention prior to today's final European WorldTour race, Il Lombardia. While most focus has been on new world champion Rui Costa, defending champion Joaquim Rodriguez, Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde, Martin has carefully prepared his assault on the final of cycling's five monuments.

Martin finished 2nd when the race finished in Lecco for the first time in 2011 and so knows that he has what it takes to excel on the tough course in Lombardy. As the defending Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner, Martin has long proven that he is a danger man for the hardest races and it could be a costly mistake to underestimate the Garmin rider.

At this time of the season, several riders are left fatigued and struggle to keep motivation. This makes Il Lombardia a psychological battle as much as a physical one. This tendency will only be made even stronger by the forecasted bad weather but Martin had often showed that he is able to stay motivated to the very end of the season.

" Tomorrow will depend on the weather. Everyone's a bit cracked at this point in the year with all the bad weather," he told Cyclingnews in an interview. "If it's wet, it's going to be a real psychological battle. I love this race, so I'm looking forward to it."

Last year the brutally steep Muro di Sormano was back in the race after a long absence and the climb was a key point in the race with the peloton splitting up on the ascent and several riders like world champion Philippe Gilbert crashing on the descent. It is followed by the legendary Madonna del Ghisallo and the short decider, Villa Vergano, just 10km from the line.

"You saw how dangerous the race can be last year with the downhill - the Sormano is one of the most dangerous downhills of any WorldTour racing, especially if it's wet, but it's part of the race and part of what makes this race special," Martin said. "It's a beautiful finish and the last climb is a really fitting way to end the European WorldTour season. It's going to be a real battle between the normal contestants. It always seems to come down to the same guys in this race."

Martin was unfortunate to crash out of the Vuelta but returned to competition in the Tour of Britain where he rode an aggressive race. Like many others, his Worlds campaign was hampered by crashes but he got a confidence boost in Wednesday's Milan-Turin where he finished 11th in the tough uphill finish.

"It's hard to know at the end of the year, one day is good and then one day is bad," he said. "I was surprised how it went on Wednesday. I didn't feel that good, but the result wasn't bad."

Martin has both excelled in one-day races and grand tours. He took that big Liege victory but was also well-placed in the top 10 on the Tour de France GC until illness struck in the final week of the race. He even won a big stage in the Pyrenees earlier in the race.

At the moment, he hopes to target both types of races in the future.

"There's no reason you can't do both," he said when asked.. "If you race with overall in mind you miss opportunities. If I had been thinking only of the GC [in the Tour de France] I might not have been so aggressive the day I won. And on stage 18 when I got sick, it would have been wasted. I proved this year that I'm capable of riding a good GC in the Tour. I would have been top 10 if I hadn't gotten sick."

"I think I can podium in a Grand Tour," he said. "I also like this race [Lombardy], too. Guys like Nibali and Rodriguez - the same type of rider is winning one days and Grand Tours now. Fortunately I seem to have the characteristics to fit into that group."

Martin will race all the way to the very end as he plans to line up in both the Tour of Beijing and the Japan Cup. Next year he will target the Giro d'Italia which starts in his native Ireland.

Starting at 13.45 CEST you can follow Il Lombardia on CyclingQuotes.com/live.