"The majority of the Giro is still ahead of us” - Daniel Martinez not getting too ahead of himself despite impressive Giro d'Italia showing on stage 2

With Tadej Pogacar off into the distance as the solo winner on stage 2 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, best of the rest proved to be BORA - hansgrohe leader, Daniel Martinez.

“In the end we did well,” reflected the Colombian post-stage. After his impressive performance, Martinez now sits third overall in the general classification, 45 seconds down on Pogacar. “We are doing well in the rankings. That was what we were looking for. The feeling is good. And this result is a boost for self-confidence and morale. There's no doubt about that. Now we just have to concentrate on what is yet to come, because the majority of the Giro is still ahead of us.”

Earlier on in the climb, Martinez looked as if he was struggling and when Pogacar attacked with 4.5km to go, the 28-year-old was notably absent from the lead chasing pack led by Geraint Thomas and Ben O'Connor.

“He had a mechanical problem,” BORA - hansgrohe sports director, Bernard Eisel explained to Eurosport. “We don't know what exactly happened, but he called us. We couldn't get to him, but he managed to solve it himself. We have yet to see what it was. Then Florian Lipowitz came to assist him. I think they both rode impressively. We are super happy. It was a good weekend for us.”