The Irishman was Quick-Step Floors' top finisher on stage four.
Despite not being a specialist of the discipline, Dan Martin put in a strong time trial Wednesday afternoon at the Critérium du Dauphiné, his all-out effort on the undulating 23.5km-long course between La Tour-du-Pin and Bourgoin-Jalieu helping the 30-year-old rider make a significant jump in the overall standings, up to 18th.
The stage was won by Richie Porte (BMC), who stopped the clock in 28:07, a result 12 seconds faster than the one of Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin), who finished runner-up, ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). In the standings, Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) continues to wear the yellow jersey, but the Belgian has lost a big chunk of his advantage following the ITT.
Dan Martin, who is seventh in the World Rankings after what has been a very impressive spring season, started the day in 28th place, but showed that not even a stage which doesn't suit him can deter his general classification ambitions and he can now draw confidence from this result ahead of the final three days of the Dauphiné, which schedule two mountain top finishes: Alpe d'Huez (3.7km, 7.2%), approached from a new side, and Plateau de Solaison (11.3km, 9.2%).
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
