Roche cites Martin as one to watch

All British eyes will be on Team Sky's Chris Froome at the Tour de France, but a Birmingham-born Irishman is capable of upsetting the odds, according to one former winner.

Dan Martin is expected to be confirmed in the Garmin-Sharp Tour team this week and is being backed by 1987 champion Stephen Roche for a successful three weeks in France.

There is a caveat to Roche’s comments: he is Martin’s uncle. But there is no doubt the 26-year-old is a prodigious talent, who earlier this year won fabled one-day race Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

"Dan is capable of anything," Roche admitted. "Dan's capable of winning the Tour, more than capable of winning one, two, three stages, maybe. Dan is one of those riders who you don't want to give too much time to. He's the kind of rider on his day who can rise to the occasion.

“If he gets in a lucky break and gets five, 10 minutes up, it would be very hard to get them back.” Martin is likely to play a key mountain support role to Garmin-Sharp team-mate Ryder Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro d’Italia champion, but the Irishman is capable of seizing any opportunity.

“Dan’s will look for those lucky breaks,” Roche added. “He isn’t the kind who would say, ‘The Tour’s not for me, it’s too big for me’. I know deep down he’s thinking, ‘I can win this’.

“They will underestimate him a little bit, but at the same time, even if they do give him the recognition that he deserves, he can slip away. He can hide very well and can make himself forgotten easily.

"He's one of these guys who is a joker for any big tour, capable of winning stages, sourcing the lucky break and gaining some time. He's very consistent. We saw that in the Tour of Spain two years ago (when Martin finished 13th).

“He’s getting stronger and stronger and definitely this year a top-10 contender.”

Another Irishman, Nicolas Roche, faces a new experience at the Tour. The son of the 1987 winner is used to leading a team at the Tour and carrying the expectations, but this time around will be riding for two-time champion Alberto Contador in the Saxo Bank-Tinkoff team.

“This year he’s riding for Contador, so it’s going to be more difficult for him to play his own personal card,” Roche senior said. “He’s never ridden for a leader; he doesn’t know what it’s like to be a worker. Riding for Contador is a very good learning curve for him.

“If Nicolas finishes 10th overall in the Tour this year, we’ll be saying, ‘Deja vu, we’ve seen it before’. If Nicolas finishes 15th or 20th and wins a stage, we’ll be saying, ‘Nicolas has improved’. His aim this year is he helps Contador win the Tour and a stage win for himself, and hopefully a top-15 for himself. But a top place overall is not important this year.”