Tony Martin finished 2nd in the individual time trial at the Three Days of De Panne. For the first time the Etixx-Quick Step rider is trying to focus on the classics.

He raced in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (92th). He was also present at the start of Dwars Door Vlaanderen (96th) and E3 Harelbeke (DNF). "I had a hard start. I had to learn a lot and I still have to learn a lot. But I feel like I’m getting better and better at this metier, I’m getting to know the roads and the climbs", the German rider told Cyclingnews. "The process is there and I’m looking forward now to the next races. It’s a good advantage to know at least parts of the race."

"What really surprised me was how hard these races are. You don’t just go in the final, you really have to fight from the start to the finish. A lot of it feels like a really long time trial. From stage racing, I’m used to it being very hard in the last hour but before that everyone looks at each other. But here you have to pay attention from start zero. Sometimes you’re already flat out after half the distance, and you still have to get to the finish. It’s not an easy metier."

Tony Martin is wearing the jersey of one of the best teams for the classics. But the Belgian team was not won a cobbled race. "We’re missing the big win until now but the really big races are still to come. I think we showed in the last few races that we are the strongest team but we miss a little bit the one guy who could make the result at the end. But the most important races are still coming."

Etixx-QuickStep have announced their nine-man team for the 100th edition of the Tour of Flanders with Tom Boonen, Tony Martin, and last year’s runner-up Niki Terpstra all featuring. Zdenek Stybar has also been selected, while Stijn Vandenbergh, Iljo Keisse, and Nikolas Maes will make up the engine room of the team.