Dan Martin might have fallen ill towards the end of the Tour de France and suffered a crash, at the Vuelta de España. But it was a positive year overall as the Irish cyclist finished sixth in Cycling's World Rankings with highlights including victory in the Liege-Baston and a stage win at the prestigious Tour de France.

The Birmingham-born racer will hope to build on his good form in 2014 and as he prepares for that challenge, Martin sat down with Off The Ball to talk about his year, controversy in cycling and his own sense of Irishness.

"I knew from my winter training that I was coming to a different level to previous years. Obviously you need luck. But to be high in the world rankings, you need a year which is relatively free of sickness and crashes," said Martin of an encouraging 2013.

"Even though I had a few downpoints like getting sick on the Tour and crashing at the Vuelta, generally I had a high, consistent level. I was consistently in the Top 5 in races and getting points week in, week out. I was eight in the rankings in 2011 so it's showing consistency which is exciting for the future." 

Coming from a a family of cyclists, racing has always been in the blood and Martin explained that he was taken to his first race when he was ten days old to watch his father compete.

His father was a British pro cyclist, while his mother is the sister of Irish Tour de France winner Stephen Roche. 

Despite growing up in Birmingham, Martin declared for Ireland aged 20.

But where does his very strong sense of Irishness come from? 

"The only reason I was ever British was because it facilitated an easier passage into the Junior ranks. When I was in Primary School during the 1994 World Cup, I was always Packie Bonner in goals. We were always the Irish team when we were playing soccer at school. I've always supported Ireland in the Six Nations. It's almost like a complete dislike for the English football team. I always find it quite amusing when they lose because of the pseudo-patriotism. Obviously I don't have an Irish accent and I wasn't born here but the support I get is overwhelming."

Martin also discussed the controversies in cycling over the past few years.

You can listen to the full interview below:

©INPHO/Morgan Treacy