Richie Porte in stage 9. In an interview at the end of the stage he said; Despite back pain, finding it hard to walk and not being able to get out of his saddle at times, he went on to finish the race sixth in the general classification, only learning afterwards that he had fractured two vertebrae in the crash. The injury forced him to miss the Clásica de San Sebastián. UAE Team Emirates (2018–19) 2018 In August 2017, Martin announced that he was joining , on a two-year contract, for the 2018 season. Martin had turned down an offer to ride for , as he would not be a team leader in Grand Tours. He had also received interest from , , and . He made his debut for at the Volta ao Algarve. Martin placed fourth on stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve, by losing out on a sprint finish to Michał Kwiatkowski; he went on to finish 14th overall. At Paris–Nice, Martin abandoned the race due to bad weather conditions and illness on Stage 7, Martin had lost time on the previous stage due to a mechanical problem with his bike. At the Volta a Catalunya Martin fell behind on Stage 4 to La Molina, finishing 1 minute 29 seconds behind stage winner Alejandro Valverde, in 19th place. He took his first win of the season with a stage win at the Critérium du Dauphiné. On 12 July Martin won his second Tour de France stage, winning stage 6 at Mûr-de-Bretagne. He was named the most combative rider of the Tour de France. Israel Start-Up Nation (2020–21) In 2020 Martin joined on a two-year contract. In 2020 Martin took 5th place in La Flèche Wallonne, and in the Vuelta a España he finished third in each of the first two stages, followed by a win on stage three before eventually finishing fourth in the General classification. On 26 May 2021, he won stage 17 of the 2021 Giro d'Italia, thus claiming a stage win in all three of grand tours. He eventually finished the Giro in 10th Overall. In September 2021, Martin announced that he would retire from competition at the end of the season. Personal Martin holds both British and Irish citizenship. After turning professional, Martin resided in Girona, Catalonia, Spain before moving to Andorra in 2014. He is married to British distance runner Jess