Success in Saturday's Clasica de San Sebastian is the next challenge for UAE Team Emirates’ Dan Martin.
Fresh from his strong performance in the Tour de France, where he finished eighth in the general classification, won Stage 6 and was awarded the Tour's most combative rider, the Irishman is signed up for the event in Spain.
Joining Martin in the Basque Country will be teammates Kristijan Durasek, Diego Ulissi, Alexandr Riabushenko, Manuele Mori, Jan Polanc and newly crowned Norwegian National Champion, Vegard Stake Laengen.
The riders will be guided by Spanish team manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez, who has plenty of insight into what Martin and his teammates will face over the 229km race, which includes eight categorised climbs.
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“For lots of riders the Clasica San Sebastian is an opportunity to take advantage of the physical conditioning they’ve built up during the Tour de France," Fernandez said.
"Our line-up will include two riders who have recently raced in the Grande Boucle. Daniel Martin, who was outstanding and always combative in France, and Kristijan Durasek, who is also very consistent on French climbs."
"We will also have Diego Ulissi, who has the skills to be an important rider in this race and proved recently at Prudential Ride London that he is in top form.
"But the competition is going to be fierce. It will be essential to make it to the final in a good position and with enough energy left to spend on what, in these last few years, has turned out to be the crucial part of the route - the climb on Murgil Tontorra.”
