Dan Martin's unintentional backhand

Back to winning

We were happy to see that Dan Martin, after a disappointing 2015 campaign, got his new season off to a rousing start.

In stage 2 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valencia, he delivered a nice solo win, beating Jesus Herrada (Movistar) by two seconds at the top of the Alto de Fredes.

What was notable, besides the victory, was his perhaps unintentional swipe at his old Cannondale squad in his post race quotes.

“When you see your teammates winning, you begin thinking it’s possible also for you to do it," he said. "That’s what is so good about Etixx – QuickStep as a team, the atmosphere, and the mentality. Everybody wants to land victories all the time, regardless of the race, and to get them gives you a lot of confidence."

Given how few races Cannondale won last year, it's hard not to read Martin's statement as a veiled reference to the Argyle Army. Was he hinting at a lack of support, a drop in camaraderie, the growing pains of merging Garmin and Cannondale? Hard to say, really.

It's just an innocuous sports quote and most likely Martin didn't mean it as a slap at Cannondale. Martin has always been complimentary of his time at Jonathan Vaughters' and left on good terms.

Then again, perhaps there was some subjext there. We'd sure like to know because dirt is a fascinating substance. Perhaps there is more to that story yet to come.