CYCLING NEWS:IRISH RIDER Daniel Martin took his second major win in 10 days when he raced to a superb solo victory in the Tre Valli Varesine in Italy yesterday. The 23-year-old Garmin Slipstream rider followed a move by Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago - CSF Inox) with one kilometre of the 199km event remaining, then dropped the Italian on the drag up to the finish in Varese.
He hit the line a full six seconds ahead, with a 14-man chase group, including former Giro d’Italia winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (ISD-Neri) and Giro race leader Vincenzo Nibali, coming in a further six seconds back.
Martin became the first Irishman to win the prestigious 1.HC-ranked race, and showed the confidence gained after his recent Tour of Poland win.
“I felt rough early on but then clicked towards the end and had very good legs,” he said. “Pozzovivo jumped and I went after him, then dropped him. I think the final climb suited me well as it was good for punchy accelerations. He beat me in the recent Brixia Tour, so it was good to get a little revenge.”
Martin is only the sixth non-Italian winner in the 91 years of the race, joining the likes of Eddy Merckx and 1996 Olympic champion Pascal Richard in the tiny group of foreign victors.
“I’m not sure if the Italian riders know me that well,” he said. “When I got clear, I think they hesitated slightly and that is all I needed. I’ve a lot of strength in my legs after the Tour of Poland, and once I had the gap it was going to be hard for them to get me back.”
Next up are two more big Italian races; he will ride the Coppa Agostoni today, then the Coppa Bernocchi tomorrow. The trio of races should set his form up nicely for Sunday’s Grand Prix Ouest France in Plouay, which is one of his big end of season goals.
“Plouay is important for me – I’d like to ride well there,” he said. “After that, I might take a bit of a break as it’s a long way until the Tour of Lombardy, which is a big target. I’ll do the Tour of Britain to get ready for that.”
Although he’s one of the team’s strongest riders at present, he has no plans to do the Vuelta a España this year.
