Dan Martin welcomed Chris Froome's arrival at the Israeli Startup Nation, arguing that it broadens rather than narrows his horizons. Speaking to Cycling News, the Irishman revealed that he will abandon his overall classification ambitions for this year's Tour de France in order to focus on stage wins.

Martin, a two-time Monument winner and three-time Tour top-10 finisher, joined Israel's Startup Nation this year to lead the World Tour in its debut season.

He will be joined next season by four-time Tour winner Froome, whose move from Team Ineos was announced two weeks ago.

"Chris contacted me before he made his decision and asked how the team was doing. We've known each other for a long time, we first raced together as amateurs in 2006.

"Looking at the races we won and the way we did it, we are very different styles of riders and that is something that can complement each other. Having Chris on the team can only be a plus for me. He's someone I can compete with in the mountains. I think we are a great match. [While Martin is known for his restless and aggressive racing style, Froome's success in the Tour de France has been largely due to the careful control of the powerful Sky/Aineos team. Indeed, Martin's desperate attempts to disrupt Sky's mountain train earned him the Combat Award at the 2018 Tour.

While Froome is expected to call on the Israeli roster for reinforcements, Martin does not expect the Sky blueprint to simply take over.

"There are different mountain trains now, like Ineos and Jumbo Visma, and it's hard to replicate them. You can't win by doing the same thing," Martin said. [Chris obviously understands how the Ineos work, so hopefully he knows how to beat them.

Nevertheless, Martin felt that talk of Frum needing to sign multiple contracts to ensure adequate support was disrespectful to the current Israeli Startup Nation players.

"Everyone underestimated us this season. Everyone underestimated us this season.

"Obviously I don't have any experience working under Chris, but from what I've seen since I've been here - the atmosphere in the team - I'm confident we can step up."

The addition of Froome would seem to limit Martin's potential for a top 10 finish in the Tour de France and a top five or even a podium finish, but that is no longer at the top of his career ambitions.

Martin, and by extension the Israeli Startup Nation, will not be challenging for GC in this year's Tour, but rather for a stage win.

"I have an open mind - I won't intentionally lose time - but I'm not focused on that. Our main goal is to win the stage, and that is also the team's goal. To be the first Israeli team on the start line and win a stage is a big deal, and that's my strength.

"When you go for GC, you are limited in that respect. And for a rider like me, it's frustrating to have to curb my aggression and have to think about not losing time every day. I'm excited to be able to race without that burden."

Ironically, Martin recognized that of all the Tours he has raced, the 2020 event, with its many climbs and only time trial, was "probably the route that suits me best."

The decision to target the stages was "50-50, mutual" between him and the team, he said, and could be further explained by the density of the reorganized season, which crams almost the entire calendar into three and a half months.

A week after the Tour, Martin will compete in the World Championships, followed by La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège the following week. After the Ardennes Classics, he will then aim for overall victory at the Vuelta a España in late October.

"It's possible that I'm better suited to GC in the Vuelta," he said. I was thinking of doing a stage in the Tour to get something back."

In any case, Martin seems refreshed after his "strangely enjoyable" period of inactivity, and after seven months he is still genuinely enthusiastic about the team, which is still new to him.

"I'm totally relaxed. That's why I came here. When you enjoy racing, it's easy to get good results."

"I realize I've accomplished a lot in this sport.