UAE Team Emirates Dan Martin survives brutal day of racing on stage nine

Sport360 staff 21:55 15/07/2018
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  • It was a brutal day of racing for UAE Team Emirates as they battled through stage nine with over 22 kilometres of cobbles to contend with.

    General Classification contender Dan Martin, who had sustained injuries in Saturday’s eighth stage, stayed safe in the peloton peloton and finished 32nd.

    The Irishman was carefully chaperoned to the front of the race by Oliviero Troia and finally delivered to the line with the main bunch after nearly three and half hours of chaotic racing.

    After dropping down the GC table in Saturday’s race, Martin’s impressive effort allowed him to recover seven positions and climb up to the 24th spot.

    He is now just 3 mins 22 seconds behind the yellow jersey leader Greg van Avermaet – a time deficit that can be made up when the Tour heads to the mountains next week.

    Alexander Kristoff also finished in the main group with the Norwegian taking 11th spot and earning another eight points in the green jersey standings.

    Commenting on the stage, Martin said: “That was incredibly hard and I have a new level of respect for the guys that ride Paris-Roubaix. It was an amazing experience and – in a strange way – I loved every minute.

    “It would have been nicer without all the crashes, but at the end of the day my bike was faultless, we made it to the finish line and we’re still in the fight for the podium.

    Even after the crash on Saturday, the team still believes in me 100%, so I have to give it everything.

    “I stayed relaxed and composed, made sure I ate and drank before the cobbled sections and hung back when I needed to, knowing that the team would help me pick my way back to the front when the time was right.”

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