Dave Brailsford Britain France Ireland Sporting cycling watch Dave Brailsford Britain France Ireland

Dan Martin: ‘Cycling is quite boring to watch. It has become prescriptive’

theguardian.com

“There were moments when I was in France and I was like: ‘Maybe they’re right, maybe I should stop eating,’” Dan Martin says as he remembers an early example of him refusing to surrender to the unhealthy demands of professional cycling.

Martin, who recorded top-10 finishes at five Grand Tours and won stages at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, had been rejected by Dave Brailsford and British Cycling despite being a national junior champion.

He turned pro in France instead where he soon discovered a sport in which cyclists are often treated as machines rather than human beings.

After Martin won the Valle d’Aosta time trial in 2006 his road captain said: “Imagine what you would be capable of if you were two kilos lighter.” Martin also recalls “scary sayings like ‘eating is cheating.’” Martin dismissed such dangerous talk with calm determination.

Related News
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has labelled his first taste of a Soweto derby as "bad" game. 
Liverpool enggan terlalu terbuai kemenangan lawan Manchester City. 'Si Merah' sadar masih banyak pekerjaan rumah, dengan West Ham United menanti.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.