ISN in the La Vuelta: Stage 13 report. “PODIUM IS WITHIN REACH “ - Israel

November 3 – Stage 13 – 33,7 km

Muros > Mirador de Ézaro. Dumbría (CRI)

Individual time-trial

Superb effort by Martin in the TT stage

“PODIUM IS WITHIN REACH “

For a guy whose pro career spans 13 years (and kicking!), a statement like “it was one of my best TTs ever!” seriously carries weight. And that was the performance we saw today from our leading man, Dan Martin, in today’s 13th stage of the Vuelta.

Vuelta Espana Stage 13 israel start up nation

Sure, there were better guys out there today (but actually not so many, just 12), but considering Dan’s lean body mass, the mostly flat course, and the headwind – it was a performance to be proud of. Although he lost more than a minute to Hugh Carthy (now in 3rd), Dan has a tighter hold on 4th. According to our DS Oscar Guerrero, he’s got a realistic chance to move into a podium position in the remaining five stages: “This will be our goal for the rest of the Vuelta – to fight for 3rd place. And I believe it can be done.”

A few more mountain stages, including one (Saturday) that ends on a peak – can still shape things up. And remember, Dan Martin has never finished better than 5th in a GC before and Israel Start-Up Nation has never even come close to this magnitude of a GC result in a Grand Tour.

Dan: “We are still in the fight for the GC, so we need to be happy. Of course, it’s not going to be easy to take back time, but we never expected to be in this position. “I must thank the team staff today as they have all made a considerable effort to put us in this position. I gave it everything I had and rode a good pace on the flat. My rivals did incredibly, and you’ve got to give them credit. Now we will look for opportunities over the coming days to see what we can do to improve our position.”