The German broke away with Dutch veteran Koos Morenhout on the Mont d'Ellezelles climb and they then worked perfectly together, finishing 1:24 ahead of the chasers and has a lead of ten seconds to Morenhout in the General Classification.
"I'm a little surprised to be the race leader but it's a nice surprise for me and for the team" Martin said to the HTC Colombia press office. "I made sure I was well placed on the climbs and then I went with Morenhout when he attacked. We worked really well together because he wanted the stage victory and I wanted to gain time overall. We managed to make it all the way to the finish, so it was perfect. Now we have to defend it and see what happens day-to-day, but I want to win overall if I can."
The Eneco Tour ends on Tuesday with a 16.9km time trial in Ghent. Saturday's stage is the longest of the race and goes from St-Lievens-Houtem Roermond. It is expected to finish in a sprint and so suits HTC-Columbia sprinters André Greipel and Mark Renshaw.
You can catch the race every day on British Eurosport.
Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/KM