The Iturria Basque is widely regarded as the hardest stage race outside of the Grand Tour. Daniel Martinez's victory was highlighted not only by his race, but also by his leadership within his Ineos Grenadier team.

Martinez stood on the start line with Adam Yates and Geraint Thomas.

Thomas won the 2018 Tour, and Yates is being eyed by Ineos management as the leader of this year's Grand Boucle. But with each pedal stroke, Martinez is increasingly assertive about his protected role.

"It's still a long way to the Tour de France," Martinez said Saturday evening after donning the yellow jersey as champion of Iturria. [The team has a clear goal. The team has clear goals. We have some very strong players and we follow what the team says."

Martinez won his first major race at the 2020 Criterium du Dauphiné before leaving EF for Ineos Grenadiers. He led Egan Bernal to victory at the Giro d'Italia, finishing fifth.

After racing little after that last season, he started 2022 strong, finishing third overall in both the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice to take the Istria crown.

Bernal's life-threatening crash in training this winter, which forced him to miss the Tour, somewhat opened up Ineos' plans, and the Colombian media returned to the idea that Martinez would be the leader.

"I'm calm," he said.

"We have very high level riders on the team. We have Adam Yates, we have Geraint Thomas. He's an experienced rider and will definitely be in good shape for the Tour de France.

"That's it," he reiterated. I'll go with what the team says."