Dan Martin is rapidly adapting to life in the Israeli Startup Nation after finishing third in the summit finish of the Volta ao Algarve in Alto da Foia on Thursday. The Irishman is in fourth place overall after two days of racing, the same position he earned in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana earlier this month.

Martín won the Alto da Foia three years ago ahead of eventual winner Primos Roglic, and finished fourth in the same stage in 2018. However, he wasn't sure about a GC push this week, partly due to the coronavirus quarantine in Asia.

"The coronavirus messed up the delivery of my time trial bike, so the overall will be difficult," Martin told Cycling News.

"That's why I haven't had a chance to ride a TT bike yet. So I haven't had a chance to ride a TT bike yet.

"Obviously, I'm going to give it my all, but I'm here to win the stage.

While no one could match Deceuninck-QuickStep phenomenon Remco Evenepoel's 400 meter acceleration from the line of the foier, Martín was one of the closest challengers. 33-year-old Martín was the first chaser, Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) at the wheel.

Currently two seconds ahead of Evenpoel, Martín could lead the race if he wins Saturday's fourth stage, the Alto de Marjan. However, given Evenpoel's time trial prowess, an overall win is out of reach.

Still, for Martin, this race is part of the buildup to a larger goal, and a positive performance is a sign of good progress.

He said of this race, "Mainly, it's about keeping going. Races like this are about working out our bugs tactically and physically."

"After this we have some time off. Valencia and here, these races are to make sure we have things to work on for Catalunya and (Iturria Basque)." [Four of them (Reto Hollenstein, Jente Biermans, Nils Pollitt, and Mads Wurzschmidt) are new to the team, even though they rode in Katusha last year.

Despite the huge task of integrating so many new riders (half the team), new staff, and equipment, Martin said it was a smooth process.

"It was really good. We're all really surprised at how well it all blended together. The racing is going well, the work is going well.

"You would think that the first race would be tricky when you have different nationalities and riders all together for the first time. It's a really great group

"When you're learning to work together, there are always things that can go wrong. In Valencia I made some personal mistakes that prevented me from getting better results.