There are few more pressurised environments in professional cycling than Etixx-QuickStep in the week leading up to the Tour of Flanders, but there is perhaps no more prestigious school, either, for a rider belatedly discovering the cobbled classics.
Buoyed by his victory on the pavé on stage 4 of last year’s Tour de France, Tony Martin has broken with the habit of a career and decided to devote the first phase of his season to riding the Flemish classics – and, of course, Paris-Roubaix.
Martin’s induction came at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, where he made it to the finish in Ghent despite a crash, and the learning curve has continued at Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Harelbeke and now the Three Days of De Panne.
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“I had a hard start. I had to learn a lot and I still have to learn a lot. But I feel like I’m getting better and better at this metier, I’m getting to know the roads and the climbs,” Martin told Cyclingnews on the start line in Zottegem on Wednesday morning. “The process is there and I’m looking forward now to the next races. It’s a good advantage to know at least parts of the race.”
Now in his ninth season as a professional, Martin already had an inkling of the basic theory of riding in the Flemish Ardennes – positioning is nine-tenths of the law. There are certain nuances, however, that can only be picked up through practical experience. Unlike the more structured lot of the stage racer, the Classics rider, it seems, must be willing to embrace a certain degree of chaos.
“What really surprised me was how hard these races are. You don’t just go in the final, you really have to fight from the start to the finish. A lot of it feels like a really long time trial,” Martin said. “From stage racing, I’m used to it being very hard in the last hour but before that everyone looks at each other. But here you have to pay attention from start zero. Sometimes you’re already flat out after half the distance, and you still have to get to the finish. It’s not an easy metier.”
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