Ask almost anyone on the Jumbo Bisma management team who the best domestique of 2019 was, and they will clearly name one, and only one: Tony Martin.

The veteran rider revived his career this year with a Dutch team after two stalled seasons with Katusha-Alpecin in his 34-year-old career. This season he played a key role in the team's time trial, competing in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

He was sent off in the former and crashed in the latter, but left a great impression on the team and his teammates. No wonder Martin has already qualified for the 2020 Tour de France.

"This is like a second life in cycling for me," he said.

"After winning so many races with Quick Step and HTC, I had a bit of a rough patch in Katusha. I came here with a lot of hopes and wishes for my career, but it felt natural to step into a domestic role. I realized I wasn't the kind of guy who could deliver big results anymore, and I was okay with that."

"Yet I found myself in a position where I could help the bigger players. That gave me great satisfaction. Even without the big wins, the year was a huge success. Cycling has become fun again

Martin moved to Katusha after winning his fourth individual time trial at the 2016 World Championships. However, his 2017 and 2018 seasons were well below his previous standards.

He failed in the classics and looked tired in the time trials. During this period he only won one race outside of the national title.

When asked what Katusha lacked, he replied, "Everything from structure to motivation to good leadership."

"There was no direction to go in and that was important. Teams need to know where direction comes from and where they need to fight. I can certainly say it was a wasted two years, but it was still fun and I had friends. On the professional side, we missed out on a lot, but we got to see the difference between a successful team and a not-so-successful one."

Jumbo Bisma gave Martin a chance to rebuild his career. They gave him back what confidence he had left and pointed him in the direction of becoming one of the best super-domestiques in the world. He competed in the Grand Tours, became pivotal in the team's time trial strategy, and was entrusted with the protection of the team's main leader.

All that was needed, it seemed, was clarity.

"I know what my role is now. When I came in, no one knew which way it was going to go. The team wanted me in the team time trial, but from the outside looking in, I wasn't sure if they needed me there."

"I was really impressed with the team, and when I actually came, there were a few things I could have done better. Gradually I was able to play the role of domestique and road captain. I am grateful for that opportunity and the fact that everyone was willing to follow me."

In addition to the 2020 Tour de France, Martín has his sights set on the World Championships in Switzerland, where he will be looking for his fifth time trial title. He has already announced that he will not include the Olympics in his program, but the World Championships course is right up his alley.

"Switzerland has the World Championships. The Olympics are too hard for me, but on this course I have time to recover and I can go full tilt for the World Championships."

"Honestly, I'm not that far away. It's just that the other guys, the younger guys, are stronger. So the World Championships is a big goal for me. I want to be there for the medals. "

On taking on the responsibility of protecting three GC riders in the Tour de France, Martín sees it as simply another challenge, one that he and his teammates can handle.

"We'll see what happens. We'll manage. We didn't have three GC leaders this year, but we had Dylan [Groenewegen] and Wout [van Art].