DAN MARTIN
For 2018 I decided together with my team UAE Team Emirates to hold back on racing until mid-February at Volta ao Algarve in the hope that it would leave me a little bit more in the tank for the end of the season. This has meant sitting back and watching race results come in - not easy for the ‘racer’ that I am, but it also got me thinking. It doesn’t seem that long ago that if you wanted to burn off your Christmas excess in competition, the only option was to head Down Under. Preseason programme discussions would go something like: ‘Tour Down Under?’ ‘Hmmm, no. Way too early in the year.’ A very similar conversation was held this year, the difference being in recent years for many teams there is a second fly-away option in Argentina in January. But wait a minute - since when was the Majorca Challenge held in January? Even as recently as 2014 it was 9-12 of February, and even that was deemed early. It’s not alone either. Étoile de Bessèges is a week earlier, and scrapes into a January start and the original Volta a la Valenciana in 2008 was a whole four weeks later than the present version. There is a definite hunger to race in the peloton, but surely this is due to so many riders finishing their seasons in mid-September, as the number of races dries up as quickly as the energy levels and motivation of the riders’ bodies after a long season. That word motivation crops up though, and from an organisers’ point of view I can completely understand the push earlier into the year. Come the autumn, most contracts are signed and sealed, the big races are wrapped up for the year and riders’ minds are mostly set on holiday plans rather than fighting for every inch of tarmac. The difference in intensity and competitiveness is remarkable these days, as now teams push for that good start to get the ball rolling on the path to a great season. But once the March WorldTour races begin, anything that happened before is all but forgotten. In cycling you are only ever as good as your last race.
And now for something completely different. Procycling asked me for ideas to mix up my page. We brainstormed, thought of options and then it hit me. Why not do some interviews myself? Cycling is a social sport, and I count myself fortunate that over the years I have been introduced to some incredible people who share a passion for two wheels like me. All of them love nothing more that getting out on the bike, and after all, isn’t that what it is all about?