Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) has been on a roll in the past week, as the 27-year-old Frenchman surpassed his 12th place finish in last year's Tour de France to suggest that a top-10 finish is possible. His third-place finish in last week's Mont Ventoux-Denivelle Challenge, followed by a fourth-place finish in Sunday's final stage of the Tour de l'Ain, suggests that he is one to watch in this week's Criterium du Dauphiné.
Martin kept pace with world-class riders on the final climb of the Grand Colombier in the final stage of the Tour de Ain, and in the final kilometer, stage winner and overall winner Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) and 2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), only to be touched by another Tour frontrunner, Arkea Samsic's Nairo Quintana, who finished in third place, just two seconds behind him.
"I am very happy with my result and proud to have reached a point where I can compete with the guys who are fighting for the overall win in the Tour de France," Martín said on the team website.
Jesús Herrada finished 13th in the final stage of the Tour de Ain, while the two Cofidis riders finished 8th and 9th overall.
In last week's Mont Ventoux-Denivelle Challenge (won by Herrada in 2019), Martin finished third, less than a minute behind winner Alexandre Vlasov (Astana) and 40 seconds behind second place Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo).
Both Martin and Elada will be part of the Cofidis Tour de France with Elia Viviani, while Martin will head to the Criterium du Dauphiné starting Wednesday in Clermont-Ferrand.
"After weeks of training at altitude, I knew I had reached a new level, but I didn't know where it would place me compared to the other riders. The riders, the staff and the whole team worked very well in the race and I will go to the Criterium du Dauphiné with the same motivation and determination.
"We are very happy with Guillaume's performance," Cofidis sport director Alain Deloille said Sunday at the Tour de l'Ain.
"Yesterday [Saturday] he crashed at the start of the stage and had to change bikes. And today he showed how good he is by staying in touch with the leading group until the end."
"His performance was very encouraging," Deloille continued. 'He was the only podium contender in the Tour de France ahead of him. At the same time, Jesús is in great form in this race and deserves to be in the top 10.
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