Tony Martin - new fan club members??

bobmac64

I posted this earlier on the Vuelta, stage 6 topic:

What a performance by Tony! I started following at about 25 km to go, and kept on coming back in disbelief when it was less than 10 km to go and he kept holding them off!
I was screaming at Tony to win and had to watch the replay to see who beat him as I was so focused on him getting to the line first.
If you were watching on Eurosport (which I can do online via Sportlemon), did you notice how quiet the commentators were after Martin was denied? (well, okay, not so much Sean Kelly, as he pretty much seems devoid of emotion). You would have thought someone just died...

Anyhow, lots of fun watching this all unfold, and I definitely have jumped on the "Tony Martin bandwagon". Is there a tougher rider out there? Crashing out in TdF stage 1 finish "bus fiasco mixup", and then winning the ITT how many days later?

So I am rather late to the party here.

Yeah, I know he is incredible ITT, World Champion - but what else to add?

Tons of focus on Cav, Sagan, Wiggo, Spartacus, and of course Ryder is all over everything here in Canada.

Can those of you more focused on Tony's past performances add to this topic?

Yellow Peril

beautiful time trial riding style. Next time there is a TT just see how good he looks on the bike, no squirming around and great souplesse. Only Wiggo can match him for fluidity, it's no wonder they are the best TT'ers in the world at the moment

FJS

bobmac64 wrote:

Yeah, I know he is incredible ITT, World Champion - but what else to add?

Well, he's won Paris Nice overall, and has finished 2nd on Tour de Suisse and Romandie GCs, so he can climb. It seems he has given up on those GC ambitions though

mm1

2nd on the Ventoux in 2009, probably a bit big (I know these things are relative) for a GC career unless Sky get hold of him.

kenziebeecroft

Tony is a man machine! He amazes me everytime.

defride

Saw it unfold on Eurosport, what a gobsmackly stunning ride. Couldn't believe the peleton couldn't close that last 10-15 sec's in the last 10k, also screaming for him as the line approaced.

What more can you say except - respect

gsvbagpuss

FJS wrote:

Well, he's won Paris Nice overall, and has finished 2nd on Tour de Suisse and Romandie GCs, so he can climb. It seems he has given up on those GC ambitions though

There was talk a few years ago of him losing a few kg and trying to contend for GC. Or maybe target more early classics - PR would suit his power surely?

Richmond Racer

GSVBagpuss wrote:

FJS wrote:

Well, he's won Paris Nice overall, and has finished 2nd on Tour de Suisse and Romandie GCs, so he can climb. It seems he has given up on those GC ambitions though

There was talk a few years ago of him losing a few kg and trying to contend for GC. Or maybe target more early classics - PR would suit his power surely?

He's said to not be that keen on the cobbles. Also said in recent Procycling interview that he's not interested in shedding the pounds to climb better, loves his TT'ing, that's what keeps him motivated

andy_wrx

"Der Panzerwagen" indeed

the article don

Even watching late last night on ITV4, knowing the result, that was just astounding. When the gap reduced to about 8 seconds it was the typical point where the bunch would normally just swallow him but then he pulled it back out to about 16 secs. Immense.

pilot_pete

And average speed for the stage? 44.8km/h. That's 27.8mph :shock: 27.8mph. I know I am just an amateur TTer in his mid 40s and well past his prime, but my fastest 10 is slower than that by 0.7mph....

Incredible. Such a shame he didn't win the stage by a tyre's width....

PP

frenchfighter

Pilot Pete wrote:

And average speed for the stage? 44.8km/h. That's 27.8mph :shock: 27.8mph. I know I am just an amateur TTer in his mid 40s and well past his prime, but my fastest 10 is slower than that by 0.7mph....

Incredible. Such a shame he didn't win the stage by a tyre's width....

PP

There was a tailwind and Martin said that he wouldnt have been able to stay away so long without it. Still an incredible ride though. In Cameron Wurf`s words: Tony Martin is the equivalent of half a peloton when he opens the throttle

frenchfighter

Daz555

Martin looks in great shape already. I really hope Wiggo is working hard at the moment so we can see a proper ding dong at the Worlds.