Chased by Pandas: My life in the mysterious world of cycling

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The panda was to become a talisman for him though he never discovered who the person was inside the suit. He covers this crash on the Mont du Chat in some detail, his thinking of why Porte was a good wheel for the descent, how he had an unwritten pact with Porte for the Tour that year and more. Yes, Dan has a place for such things, but he balances it with a healthy dose of common sense along with doing things his own way. I think it’s fair to describe Dan as more of a classics rider, his favourite race being Liege-Bastogne-Liege (La Doyenne), notably fifth in 2012, winning the race in 2013 and second in 2017.

Each chapter’s title has a sub-title based on a typical cyclist’s fear: the fear of losing a race, the fear of retiring from the sport, the fear of mountains or downhills, the fear of doping and, ultimately, the fear of death. Dan is a proud husband of Jess, a British long-distance runner who competed in the 2016 Olympics, in Rio, and a proud father of twin daughters, Ella and Daisy, born in September 2018.The thing that I remember most about Martin is him being totally wiped out by Porte and showing no resentment for the fact. A break of three or so went early, the pack rode steady waiting for the last lap or two to wind things up.

Many anecdotes get a paragraph or two but could be a whole chapter although the hardback already runs to 300 pages. I’ve always aspired to race like that since (rarely succeeding thanks to adhd driven impulsiveness) but it was so clinical and enjoyable to watch him constantly positioning himself in the right place the whole way through that day. When I started watching races more regularly I for some reason developed an almost instant antipathy to Dan Martin. Overlaying that is a glimpse of the frankly mystical events that have foretold a victory or just the direction his career should take.

In a peloton which sometimes seems populated by smooth-pedalling clones, it was always pleasing to be able to pick out Dan with his distinctive, inelegant but effective style. Operación Puerto itself is mentioned once, in passing, Martin noting that the man whose shadow he seemed to become, Alejandro Valverde, had been “implicated in the Operation Puerto doping affair”.