Daniel Martínez eyeing Tour de France lead after Itzulia Basque Country success

Daniel Martínez has relied on his strong climbing abilities, explosive sprint and consistency to take the overall win at Itzulia Basque Country. The INEOS Grenadiers rider did a very strong performance which puts him in a great position at the team's hierarchy for the coming months.

At the start of the queen stage of the Basque stage-race Martínez was two seconds away from the lead of Remco Evenepoel. After having won the fourth stage, he's benefited from Primoz Roglic's GC fade in the fifth stage: "In the final climb I lacked a little, but today I was very solid until the final. In the final climb we were all very short [on energy]. Enric Mas crashed in the descent and I was cut between the groups, so I decided to wait for Remco and work together to reach the front. We did it, but we suffered," he said after the finish.

With Jumbo-Visma lighting it up in the Krabelin climb after INEOS worked throughout the first half of the stage, Martínez saw himself a good position in the virtual lead, however until the final climb there were many twists and turns to the race situation.

However in the final climb the plan proved successful, as Martínez managed to control all attacks whilst seeing Evenepoel distances: "It was a brutally hard day. The idea was to make the race hard in the climbs so that Remco would arrive empty to the final ascent [to the Alto de Arrate]. I was two seconds away from Remco, which was very hard because he's very complete."

"There's a long way for the Tour. The team has clear goals. There are very strong riders, so I'll be at the disposal of what the team says." he concluded. After a third spot at Paris-Nice and a strong win at Itzulia, Martínez is consolidating himself as a leader for INEOS at the Tour de France. After having finished fifth at the Giro last year he's proved to be capable of the task at hand, and with compatriot Egan Bernal unlikely to be at the start, he will be in a good position.