"I need to regain my confidence": Daniel Martínez leaves a strong impression at Algarve in his "comeback season"
Cycling
The season start was not perfect for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe as their super-star signing Remco Evenepoel failed to deliver the widely expected victory at the UAE Tour, meanwhile 2025 Tour de France podium finisher Florian Lipowitz didn't impress at the Volta ao Algarve either. That is why Daniel Martínez's consistent performance in Portugal provided a much needed spark of hope. If not for the team as a whole, then at least for the Colombian himself, as he makes comeback from a botched 2025 campaign.
In fact, the season of Martínez ended already in early August at the Tour of Pologne. Not because of one of the many crashes on stage 3, but because of health issues that continued to plague the Colombian's season.
"Last year I was really sick; I had a bacteria in my stomach. That meant I wasn't in good shape," he explains to WielerFlits.
The fall from greats was hard on Martínez. After a second place overall at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, the Colombian's best (and the only good) result of past season was a 7th place at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Not quite what the 29-year-old had been used to. "I need to regain my confidence," he stated firmly.
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Full of hopes
Ending the previous season early, the Colombian set his eyes on 2026 as a comeback season. And so far, the start looks promising. After a second place in a time trial at the Colombian Championships, the Red Bull racer confirmed a solid level at the start of this season with a 7th place overall at the Volta ao Algarve.
A good reason for optimisim for Martínez: "My feeling is good; I've changed my mindset for this year."
For now, Martínez has the Ardennes and the Tour de France on his schedule; in that Grand Tour, he'll have to play a key supporting role for GC contenders Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz. This demonstrates the team's confidence in Martínez: "They're giving me a lot of support [after last season]," he admits.

Daniel Martínez showed a high level in Portugal
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
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