Daniel Martínez will be one of INEOS Grenadiers' leaders at the Tour de France, and he has stated his drive heading into the race in which the British team will attempt to reclaim a title that they have obtained several times in the last decade.
"At the moment Adam Yates is the leader for the Tour, I'm number two," Martínez said in an interview with France24. “Within the team we will see how we play our cards. There is also Geraint Thomas, who has already won the race and knows the race well. Those are our three cards," the Colombian pointed out.
Possibly a bluff so as to not have the pressure within the team, Martínez has been INEOS' most consistent rider so far this season, having won Itzulia Basque Country, finished on the podium of Paris-Nice and the Volta ao Algarve, and on the Top5 of Fléche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Having finished fifth at the Giro d'Italia last year in full support of Egan Bernal, Martínez has also proved himself as a Grand Tour contender, and he is quite ambitious: "If I go to the Tour de France in good shape, I can compete with the Slovenians. The superiority of Roglic and Pogacar in the time trials is clear, I have to look for it in the mountains," he said.
He's also mentioned the possible to "use the strength of the team on the cobblestones," of which the duo has done a recon rider and raced the GP de Denain, where Martinez showed good signs. INEOS are having to change their approach to the Tour de France in the last few years as Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar have been the men to beat, and Martínez will be part of the new wave that will try to break the Slovenian streak.
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