Dan Martin Irish national championships
With two recent wins – the Route du Sud and the Irish national championships (pictured above) – some have wondered just why young Dan Martin isn’t part of the Tour de France squad. His trainer, Adrie van Diemen answers that question.

Dan Martin isn’t going to the Tour de France for many different reasons. The main reason is that Dan has trained and raced to be at his peak for the time period that included the Route du Sud, the Irish national road championships, and the European road championships tomorrow. The Tour de France starts on July 5 and would require three more weeks of top form. It is not possible to stay in top condition for so long.

Also, the Tour de France wasn’t considered in the beginning of the year when Dan’s race schedule was planned for his first year pro. Another reason is that the longest professional stage race he has completed was the seven-day Volta a Catalunya. The difference between a shorter race and the Tour is not only in the number of stages, but also in the caliber of the peloton. The Tour de France gathers the best team’s best riders in their best condition.

For sure Dan is a talent and is going really well now. But he is still only 21-years-old and we have to be careful not to overdo it. The main thing now is that Dan keeps developing himself so he can be competitive in bigger stage races. And as long as all continues to go well in his development and there are no major setbacks - for example through injury or illness - we will see Dan in the Tour the France within a couple of years.