After a 2011 season he describes as "quite eventful and a quite successful", Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) takes Cyclingnews behind the scenes at his Spanish home and shows off the cups and trophies he has won this year.
The Irish climber says his Vuelta a Catalonya's cup for his third place behind Alberto Contador and Michele Scarponi is an emotional souvenir. "There is a little Catalan flag - that's my home region where I live and train now, so it meant a lot for me," he says.
At the Tour of Poland, where Martin came second and won the queen stage, he was given a more original trophy: a piece of salt from Krakow, were the race finished.
Ranked 9th in WordlTour, Martin particularly enjoys the cup from his stage win at the Vuelta a Espana: "This is my first stage in a grand tour".
Finally he shows us his plate for his second place at the Tour of Lombardy. "Even if it's not a spectacular trophy, it's something important", he says.
In 2012 Martin expects to capture new "souvenirs", notably from the Tour de France which he is hoping to race for the first time.
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