Aspirations and goals

Interviewed by Velo News, Daniel Martin admits that he may target the Giro in 2014, and added:

“The team’s putting their full backing behind me. It’s the first time I’ll be going into a grand tour with full team leadership and a strong team to support me and that’s really exciting,” he said.

Martin also enjoyed protected status during this year’s Tour, but it was shared between him, Hesjedal and Talansky. This time around though (and no doubt due to his stellar 2013 season) he will be sole captain in the Giro, and enjoying Garmin’s full result, as well as responsibility, in the Italian Grand Tour.

He is still undetermined about potential Tour de France 2014 participation, and stated:

“I’m at such a strong level now, that I dare to say it’s not hard now to finish a grand tour. You’re tired, but if you’re not riding for GC you don’t finish completely wrecked. Then, the Giro is probably good preparation for the Tour. But if you’re killing yourself at the Giro, the Tour would be hard, just from a psychological point of view.”

The Grand Tours aside, Martin insists that the Ardennes classics, and the defense of his Liège - Bastogne – Liège title, are still very important.

“The classics are always a big objective. I love those races,” he says. “Last year I only did one race, the Tour of Med, before Tirreno-Adriatico so the program is not too much different. But I hit Tirreno in quite good form this year. Next year, maybe Catalunya will suffer but hopefully I’ll still be pinging for the Ardennes.

“I think if you focus too much on one race you miss opportunities in others. For example, I was really focused on the Ardennes this year and then Catalunya came along beforehand and I thought ‘I’ll try and win Catalunya too.’ Guys get so eaten up on focusing on the Tour de France, say, and they miss opportunities elsewhere.”

On doping

Daniel Martin, who has always been against doping, and active in preventing its abuse, also added:

“I think it is damaging to cycling that every couple of weeks another guy puts his hand up and says he doped. But it’s hard to know if it would be more damaging to cycling if all of these guys came out at once. It probably would be better if it happened like that. If it happens now, then hopefully in 2014 we could turn over a new leaf and start again,” he says.

“I don’t know what the answer is. I think that’s why it’s so difficult for everyone to call it. It’s a difficult position to be in. You’re always going to have calls from people for justice. I think that’s going to be the biggest sticking point. If they do this truth-and-reconciliation thing you’ve still got guys who’ve had to go through a ban and suddenly these other guys get off free and they’re not going to be happy. It’s a balancing act.”