Martin looking for another mountain win at the Vuelta

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Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) is targeting a second Vuelta a España stage victory today, as the race tackles the final mountain finish in Peña Cabarga in the northern Cantabria region.

The 6.1km has an average gradient of 8.9% with a steep middle section and then an even harder ramp up to the finish line. The climb is close to race leader Juan José Cobo's home but Martin is looking to steal the limelight from the Vuelta leader.

"The climb really suits me," Martin told Cyclingnews. "Rest days always do me good. I'm usually average the first day back racing but then I'm usually really good. So I hope do a good race, get to bottom of the climb at the front and be up there at the finish. I've got the legs at the moment."

Martin won stage nine on the summit finish of La Covatilla with an aggressive ride on the climb. He had hoped to challenge on the more exacting Angliru but admits he chose too hard a gear for the steep climb. He finished eleventh on the Angliru, 1:41 down on Cobo.

"The Angliru surprised me a bit. I felt good but I made a mistake with the gear," he said. “I thought 34x28 would be enough but it turns out the other guys like Brad Wiggins, had a 32. That's why they could spin the legs. I felt good on the lower parts but on the steepest parts I stopped dead and that's where they dropped me."

Martin is 15th overall, 6:47 behind Cobo and is pleased with the consistency of his overall performance.

"It's a pity I wasn't up there on the Angliru but it proves I've got the legs after a hard 15 days of racing," he pointed out.

"People are saying this is an extremely hard grand tour because of we've had to be on it every day. In the past my weakness in grand tours has been the psychological part of it all. Before I was good physically but then I'd crack mentally and have a bad day. So far so I've been pretty good and consistent. That all bodes well for the future."