Today's truth is never the same as tomorrow's in a Grand Tour. Feeling a bit reserved since the beginning of the Giro, the first of his career, Guillaume Martin made up for it in a brilliant way on Saturday, during a stage where he was not expected to stand out.
Guillaume Martin, an outstanding performance
After 1134 km since the start in Budapest this long loop around Naples, was indeed designed for sprinters. However, 20 riders took part in the breakaway with Guillaume Martin in it, as the highest ranked rider of the group. As the finish line approached, he held on and managed to keep his pace right until the finish line. For a while, he even came close to the pink jersey. At the finish, Martin crossed the line 33 seconds behind the winner of the day, Thomas De Gendt.
A brilliant performance that allowed him to make a big jump in the overall ranking. He went from 28st to the 4th place, 1 min 06 sec behind the leader, Juan Pedro Lopez. A great recovery that pays tribute to the efforts of the Nordic team since the start, like the 5th place of Davide Villella yesterday. Above all, Guillaume Martin reminds us that we can count on him in the next part of this Italian drama, as only a third of the race has been covered.
A new mountain stage in sight
Tomorrow, it will be necessary to double the efforts to keep his good place in the general classification and to be among the leaders of the race. The task is going to be tricky: the 187km stage in the heart of the Apennines will be highlighted by the double climb that leads to the Blockhaus. A 13.6 km climb at 8.4% that has already marked the history of the Giro. There will be no time to rest in the last fifty kilometers. All of the Cofidis riders will have to show that they can be trusted once again.
