Daniel Martínez continues to give the impression that he might be the rest of the rest behind Tadej Pogačar on this Giro d'Italia, but the Colombian had to settle for second place behind the maglia rosa on stage 8 to Prati di Tivo.
After Pogačar's otherworldly display in the Perugia time trial the previous afternoon, the Giro was braced for another onslaught on the category 1 haul to the finish, but the anticipated acceleration on the steepest section after passing through Pietracamela never materialised.
Pogačar's default settings simply don't allow him to yield victory to a rival in the manner of Miguel Induráin in generations past, but his willingness to contest Saturday's finale in a reduced group sprint offered encouragement to Martínez, who has a solid track record in precisely this kind of scenario.
Although Martínez kicked for home more or less at the same time as Pogačar, the maglia rosa's first few pedal strokes at full bore immediately carried him a length clear and he proceeded to claim his third stage win of this Giro.
Martínez could never get on terms and he had to settle for second ahead of Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R), and the consolation prize of picking up eight more seconds on Geraint Thomas (Ineos).
"I wanted to give him a fight, but there is no doubt that he is far superior," Martínez told reporters as he warmed down on a turbo trainer beyond the finish line. "UAE were controlling the whole race, I knew that [Rafal] Majka was going to wind it up for Pogačar. Tadej controlled the last kilometres quite well and he finished it off very easily.
"In the last 2k, I thought, 'Ok, this might be my opportunity,' but Pogačar was incredible, he did a very good sprint. I was very focused on Tadej because I wanted to win the stage, but in the sprint, my legs were on the limit."
As simple and as complicated as that. Pogačar makes it all look so absurdly easy, and Martínez, O'Connor, Thomas et al already look to be locked in a race for second and third place in Rome. Martínez currently lies second at 2:40, now 18 seconds clear of Thomas, thanks to his fine display in the Perugia time trial.
His hold on second place might be more emphatic, of course, had he not been hindered by a rear derailleur issue on the summit finish at Oropa on stage 2. The Colombian managed to keep his composure there and rejoin the chasing group in the closing kilometres. In the days since, he has looked ever more convincing as a podium contender, even if Pogačar's maglia rosa seems beyond the reach of everyone.
"He's one of the best in the world but let's see. The Giro is long, we'll keep going," Martínez said. "At the moment the feeling is good, so I'll keep focused on tomorrow and also the next days."
Martínez is in his first season at Bora-Hansgrohe having spent the past three seasons at Ineos. Although largely confined to a supporting role with the British squad, he did help himself to fifth overall at the 2021 Giro, while also playing a pivotal role in saving the final overall victory of his friend and compatriot Egan Bernal.
In July, Martínez is set to return to playing the part of luxury domestique, this time in the service of Primož Roglič but he has been handed the freedom to lead at the Giro. Thus far, he seized the opportunity, even if he may rue the absence of Florian Lipowitz, whose promising Giro debut was cut short by illness after stage 5.
"It's an important loss for us because he was in good shape, he's a great climber and we're going to miss him in the coming days," said Martínez.
Speaking to Cyclingnews earlier this week, Bora-Hansgrohe directeur sportif Enrico Gasparotto didn't entirely rule out the idea of winning the race, pointing out that his team had claimed the 2022 Giro with Jai Hindley despite not setting out from Budapest as the favourites.
"Two years ago, we came just with the aim of doing well on GC with Jai, Wilco [Kelderman] and Emu [Buchmann], so we can't say that we set out back then with the idea of winning with Jai," Gasparotto said. "Obviously Tadej Pogačar is Tadej Pogačar, he's not a surprise, but the good thing for us is that Dani is going well."
Martínez, for his part, was reluctant to cast his gaze too far ahead as he completed his warm-down at Prati di Tivo. "We're taking it step by step," he said. "There's still a lot of Giro left. There are still the hardest stages ahead."
