Tour de France - Dan Martin: I wasn’t expecting to finish so high in the GC after the crash
Jul 24 2017 06:04 am CET
Photo of Dan Martin © Tim De Waele
Quick-Step Floors' Dan Martin has finished the 2017 Tour de France in sixth place, his best result in a Grand Tour and the best placement for an Irish rider since 1987.
It has been 30 years since Stephen Roche, Martin's uncle, took the overall victory at the Tour de France. Even though Martin didn't win the race or reached the podium, he showed a big fighting spirit and showcased his talents.
"I am very happy, especially as I wasn’t expecting to finish so high in the GC after that stage 9 crash," said the rider about the accident that left Richie Porte (BMC) out of the race.
"It was a hard but at the same time fun race and at the end of it all I am proud of what I’ve achieved here. Our team has tasted success on numerous occasions throughout these three weeks and I’m leaving France with many beautiful memories, but also with a huge desire to return next year and fight again to finish even higher in the overall standings," he commented.
During the race, Marcel Kittel became the third rider to win five stages at a single Tour de France and got his 14th victory in the French Grand Tour, becoming the first German to achieve that.
This was the most successful Tour de France for the Belgian team, which tops the WorldTour classification for the 18th consecutive week.
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