Tony Martin gave all he could to cut into a 50 second gap between he and Volta ao Algarve leader Richie Porte (Team Sky) at Sunday's individual time trial stage. Martin's 100 percent effort got him 2nd place to Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) in the final stage, but fell 37 seconds short of the overall victory in 2012. "I'm happy about my performance even if I made two little mistakes in two corners that compromised my race a bit," Martin said. "Moreover at about five kilometers from the finish a dog crossed the road while I was passing. I was scared and I stopped pedalling for few meters. But all these kind of things can happen in a TT, so I have nothing to complain about the race."
Martin was the 2011 winner of Volta Algarve. Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team went into Sunday's stage with momentum after a 1-2 victory in stage four for Gerald Ciolek and Matteo Trentin.
"Wiggins was really strong and he devoted the victory," Martin said. "It was a nice duel with Bradley and I'm sure this year we will see other good fights as today. Concerning my condition, I can say that I improved a lot in this week of racing. Everything is going in the right directions, I'm really looking forward to the next races."
