A puncture stops Dan Martin in Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Luck was not on the Irishman Dan Martin’s side today and team UAE Team Emirates with a series of crashes in sicknesses this season.

Daniel Martin was part of a select group with eight kilometres to go ahead of Saint Nicolas, one of the principle parts of this race. It was a very unfortunate time to puncture and left little time to recover for the finish. The dream of another win in this prestigious race, which was one of Martin’s early season objectives, was gone.

“I really had a good legs today and this was thanks to the work I’m doing and to the team,” said Dan Martin. “We made a plan for this race from the start to the finish and we believed in our chances. We showed that we are an important team and we can race like one of the best teams in the world.

“At the end of the race, I had good feelings and I was ready to try to profit from the work of my team earlier on in the race. I tried to anticipate the others moves with a series of attacks because I felt that it was the decisive moment in the race, which it ended up being. I’ve punctured in the worst of moments and when I saw my front wheel was completely flat, I could not believe it. Now I hope to profit from my hard work at the Tour of Romandie.”

Luxemburger Bob Jungels (Quick Step) shot free before the finish line and won the race solo ahead of Canadian Michael Woods and Frenchman Roman Bardet.

RACE RESULTS:

1 Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) 6h24’44”
2 Michael Woods (Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) 37”
3 Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) 37”
18 Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) 2’41”