Frankfurt, Sept. 17 (BNA): Veteran German Tony Martin has recovered from his heavy fall in the Tour de France and is eyeing medals at the world championships in Belgium that opens at the weekend, German news agency dpa reports.
“If I could wish it would be a medal in the individual time trial and a gold in the mix [time trial]. This would be a dream scenario. The 36-year-old said in an interview with the German news agency (dpa) that it was also realistic.
Martin, the four-time world champion in testing, insisted that past success means “I don’t have to take fifth” on the 43.3km track from Knokke-Heist to Brugge on Sunday.
“I think it’s a tournament that suits me very much,” he said. “I’m in good shape and if everyone gathers I’ll be happy with a medal.”
Martin did not participate in last year’s hastily arranged worlds amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This year he had a severe crash in the first stage of the Tour de France when he crashed into a cardboard sign carried by a woman, resulting in a mass crash. The Jumbo-Visma rider gave up on the Tour after another less dramatic fall on stage 11 but said he’s now fit again.
“It was definitely a really bad fall,” he said. “But I would say it was mostly superficial. Most of the wounds healed relatively well after three to four weeks.”
AOQ