Cycling: the decision has been made! Belgian team Wanty-Groupe Gobert has received a wildcard for the 2018 Tour de France. Guillaume Martin, who will be starting as the classification driver for the team, will be particularly pleased about this. About a week ago we decided to put the 24-year-old in our section 5 to watch record. So the Frenchman has already brought us a first success – but there is still a lot more to come in 2018.
Another Martin - and another top Frenchman
All cycling fans know Tony Martin and Daniel Martin. Now they should remember another Martin. Guillaume Martin has put himself on the scouting lists of every professional team. The 24-year-old drew attention to himself several times in 2017. He finished #18 at the Critérium du Dauphiné and #23 at the Tour de France. There were also victories, such as the Giro della Toscana. Guillaume Martin has so far remained largely hidden from the general public, which is due to the numerous strong French drivers. In the shadow of his older compatriots and colleagues, he can grow into a top ranking driver just as undisturbed as in his small team, Wanty-Groupe Gobert. Because his team doesn't have WorldTour status, he doesn't automatically take part in the most important races on the calendar, but he can always have legitimate hopes of receiving wildcards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UryVHlodHQ
Martin feels at home in the mountains
Even if Guillaume Martin is only 24 years old and his best days are still ahead of him, he was able to inspire the scene's talent scouts for the first time in the 2011 season. He played a significant role in Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier's junior world title. He also won his first races as a junior and amateur. From then on, the professional teams tried to win him, above all, of course, the teams from France. In 2013, the team Sojasun engaged him as a stagiaire for the second half of the year, and a year later he was allowed to try his hand at FDJ. However, his performance was not enough for a professional contract with a French WorldTour team. Finally, the Belgian Professional Continental Team Wanty-Groupe Gobert secured his services from 2016. While he struggled a bit at the beginning due to a sports injury to the knee extension apparatus, he got better and better in the months that followed. The one-day classics didn't prove to be a strength, but the mountainous tours did.
Columnist, philosopher - and tour stage winner?
Since many amateurs in cycling don't make it to the pros, Guillaume Martin thought about his future early on. Especially after his test drives in two French teams were unsuccessful, he was determined to build a future off the road. In 2015 he obtained a Masters degree in philosophy from the University of Paris-Nanterre. When the leap into professional cycling did succeed, he concentrated on that. After his performance at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2017, he was also nominated for the Tour de France by the team management. There he also wrote a column for the French daily Le Monde. With a stage win, it almost worked out at the same time. On Stage #8 only Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) and Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo) finished ahead of him.
Wanty-Groupe Gobert wildcard to Tour de France 2018
The course has been set for Guillaume Martin. The Frenchman wants to assert himself as a class driver in the scene in the coming years and gradually climb the ladder. Certainly Martin is not a high-flyer, he can rather be described as a fighter who has to assert himself against the adversities of the scene. Through hard work, the reward should be harvested at some point. A lot also depends on the organizers of the most important tours for its further development. Since Wanty-Groupe Gobert is not part of the WorldTour, participation is not automatically secured, but must be granted by wildcard. The team received this wildcard on Monday. We will therefore almost certainly see Guillaume Martin at the Tour de France 2018. The goal: to top place #23 in the overall classification and maybe win a stage!
Premier bloc d'entraînement effectué en Sicile, dans la bonne humeur et au milieu de beaux paysages! #Etna #cubebikes #teamwgg pic.twitter.com/5Oupf9QYQi
— Guillaume Martin (@GuilmMartin) 12 December 2017
Cover image source: © Wanty-Groupe Gobert