Dan Martin has been one of the most successful riders over the 2010's and has witnessed a new type of racing in the Grand Tours, marked by pacing and the infamous 'Sky Train'. Although that era is behind, the Irishman believes the situation remains the same in the peloton.
Martin told The Guardian that “it’s the freedom of expression as well. That freedom to attack. Racing is quite boring to watch now as nobody makes mistakes anymore. Everything is so fine-tuned you don’t see guys having bad days. Everybody is nutritionally perfect, training is perfect, and it’s lacking that human element. Racing has become quite prescriptive.”
He's argued that today's racing has became less exciting than what it used to be. An argument frequently used by former riders, however not from those who have retired a matter of months ago. “Though I am still competitive, I’ve realized that racing has lost the fun element," Martin added however, adding a reason for his retirement at the end of 2021.
"That’s why I stopped riding this time last year – because the sport was becoming so controlled. I’d lost my advantage because every cyclist now is told exactly what they’re doing and each team’s methodology is the same. I want to be able to decide why, when and what training I do and what tactics I use. If I had gone into that [Sky] team, I wouldn’t have enjoyed myself," he continued.
As a punchy climber, he found a passion in the hilly classics where these tactics could not succeed as much. He's hence taken very meaningful wins at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia, aswell as some stage wins in the Grand Tours. He's finished five times on the Top10 of Grand Tours, his best result being a fourth place at the 2020 Vuelta a Espana, but his struggles in the time-trials often made him an outsider for the wins at best.
“Even though people say it’s the best racing ever, it’s really down to Pogačar. He is the loose cannon who attacks whenever he feels like it, whereas the rest of the racing is so scripted and controlled,” Martin added. “Pogačar comes back to the idea of romantic cycling. I still talk to him quite often and he seems to enjoy racing his bike and that’s why he does almost every race on the calendar.”
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Pogacar, a former teammate and friend - with the two often replying to each other teasingly on Twitter - is what many call a breath of fresh air, part of the new generation of riders who due to his massive talent, has the ability to spark chaos in many types of races. “His team is preparing for the future even though Pogačar is only 24. So the question of longevity is already there for him,” Martin said however of the Slovenian, having into consideration the bet on Juan Ayuso, and other very young riders that the UAE team is aiming for such as junior supertalent António Morgado.
“When I was riding, a team would have taken Pogačar and said: ‘Right, he’s our guy for the next 10 years.’ Now you have these incarnations, these super-teams, with the resources to have five young riders behind him, ready to replace him as soon as he dips. I’ve heard stories of 16-year-olds doing 30 hours training a week. They’re already training like hardened pros," he said, perhaps justifying the incredibly high level that riders come up the ranks already with.
“My sympathy lies with the guys who have to make more sacrifices than I ever did just to be in the peloton. Just to be on the start line in the Tour you have to do altitude training camps, honed nutrition, you need to be super, super, skinny. You have to be doing what Team Sky did," he argued.
“But I got top-10 in the Tour de France, training out of my front door every day. Today that’s not possible," Martin concluded.
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