Guillaume Martin seeking stage win at Tour de France :"It will be a great playground for climbers"

Guillaume Martin is one of the riders who has traditionally been targeting the overall classification at the Tour de France over the last few years, however the goal is different this year as he looks to win in a Grand Tour for the first time.

"I am very happy to be able to put on a number in the Tour de France, for the 6th time already. It will be a very special Tour with a very tricky first week, with the risk of curbs, cobbles... I really don't want to put myself under unnecessary pressure and take risks for the general classification," Martin admits. Although he does not rule out a possible tilt, he's rather clear that is not the Frenchman's goal.

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"The goal will be to get through this first week without any problems and if I lose a little bit of time, it's not important," he said. "We will also have to see how I have recovered from the Giro. It is a particular sequence, I have been riding two Grand Tours in a row for three years and maybe I am getting tired."

As a pure climbers without a strong sprint, Martin has always seen himself struggling to get big wins. An inconsistent rider, however a very strong climber on his best day. This race will see several days that suit him well, and he'll be hunting a stage in the high mountains. "After that, there will be a lot of stages which will be favourable to breakaways. The most mythical one is the Alpe d'Huez," he pointed out.

"The one of the day before is also good and I don't forget the last one in the Pyrenees which arrives at the top of Hautacam. Once we get past the first week, it will be a great playground for climbers," Martin concluded.