German Tony Martin fulfilled his promise in the Paris-Nice time trial(Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) took a few risks but won the stage (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) will be gunning for a top ten in this year’s Tour de France but doesn’t believe his performance will have much of an affect on the team’s search for a new sponsor.
The German won Paris-Nice this year and finished second in the Tour de Romandie and will spearhead HTC’s quest for a high position on GC. With Peter Velits and Tejay Van Garderen to support him in the mountain the 26-year-old believes that he has the opportunity to finally crack it as a Grand Tour rider.
However, despite his recent good form and the fact that HTC have won more races than any other team since the 2008 season the American outfit are struggling to find a sponsor for next year. Martin admitted that the timing was less than perfect and told Cyclingnews that he and the rest of the team were focused on the job at hand.
HTC could land an early blow against their rivals during the opening weekend. The first stage from Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts to Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers could play into the hands of Matt Goss while the following day's team trial will see the team excel.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
