Advertisement
Martin celebrates success in the Tour de Lombardie. Yuzuru SUNADA
back on the bike

'It’s easy to be down when you’re in so much pain': Dan Martin mentally stronger after testing 2014

After crashing out of the Giro D’Italia in Belfast, Ireland’s premier cyclist refocused to turn 2014 into a very good year indeed.

2015 WILL HOLD hold many changes for Dan Martin. Not least his team-mates, and the name they ride under.

Yet after several years of battling his way up the pecking order with ever-improving form, Martin will remain top dog in the new amalgamated Cannondale-Garmin team next year.

He laughs wryly at praise for his 2014, the memory of crashes and injuries picked up early in the Giro D’Italia and the Liege-Bastogne-Liege are still too fresh in the memory to be forgotten.

“It’s funny how everyone forgets the start of the year where I had a lot of bad luck, but the consistency I showed at the end of the season really helped me bounce back after the crash on the road in Belfast – and in Liege as well.”

With the opening stages in Ireland, The Giro had been Martin’s primary goal for the season. Instead, he hit the pavement in the team time trial. The opening stage.

“I had a bit of a rough time,” Martin says after a meet and greet in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Cycling - 2014 Giro D'Italia - Stage One - Belfast

“It was a case of a ‘why me’ attitude: I had bad luck in Liege and two weeks later I was on the floor again. Both times I didn’t really have a part to play in the crash, it was just pure bad luck, I couldn’t have avoided the crash. Normally when you crash, you’ve made a mistake, but both times it was purely a case of bad timing, a bad situation.

“After that, it took me a few weeks to recover and get my head around it again.

“I was just a little bit sad, a bit down. It’s easy to be down when you’re in so much pain as far as the pain in my shoulder and stuff, but then you get over it. You forget how much it hurts, you move on, get back on the bike again and when you’ve a good time at the end of the year, you forget the rough times at the start.”

Cycling - 2014 Giro D'Italia - Stage One - Belfast

The fractured collarbone ruled him out of the Tour de France. However, Martin was able to refocus and target the latter races in the season, and was rewarded with the a win in Beijing to put – as Martin might put it – a gloss on the campaign. There’s nothing quite like a grand tour, however, to boost confidence. And Martin’s ride to seventh place in a searing hot La Vuelta D’Espana made for a dramatic return from the surgeon’s table.

“I felt really good the whole race. From the first day until I crashed on stage 14 I was getting better and better. I was getting really close to winning stages, climbing with the likes of Froome and Contador  It was the first time I’ve climbed with those guys on a grand tour. To ride at that level was great experience.

“The last week was pretty tough because after my crash I had to take some pretty strong antibiotics and I wasn’t digesting well so I wasn’t recovering properly after stages and the last couple of  days I really struggled, I was empty.

“I think I’m even a bit proud of that.

“I was seventh on [General Classification, my] first time in the top 10 in a grand tour, but I think it was more important to me, mentally and to me personally to get that result and also prove to myself that I can race with the best over three weeks. It’s definitely something to think about in the future.”

Temple Street 03 (1) Dan Martin pictured showing his support for the DID Cycle4Life event in aid of Temple Street Children’s Hospital with Reuben Walsh.

“I’m in a very good place mentally at the moment as well . I’ve met my girlfriend [Jessica Andrews] and things are great there. It sounds clichéd, but the crashes have given me a bit more perspective on my year. I realise how fortunate I’ve been in the past and not to take anything for granted.

“I’ve found out you really have to work very hard. But it’s not just about working hard, you also need good luck on your side as well.”

Just think of the possibilities 2015 holds if he gets luck on his side.

Lots of beer and Full Irishes: Dan Martin knows the value of ignoring your diet (for a while)

In pics: Dan Martin pulls up at Temple Steet