"I don’t feel particularly ill or anything like that, just tired" - Lenny Martinez unable to explain what went wrong on stage 1 of 2025 Tour de France

Lenny Martinez was one of the big disappointments of stage 1 at the 2025 Tour de France. The Frenchman had signalled his intention to not ride for GC this time around, but being consistently dropped and ending the day right in front of the broom wagon was far from ideal for the Bahrain - Victorious prospect.

"I'm alright. Yesterday (Saturday) was just a really off day, but I hope things will go better from here," Martinez told the media, in quotes collected by L'Equipe, ahead of stage 2. "I don’t feel particularly ill or anything like that, just tired — it was a really tough day. The pace was high in the wind, and I struggled to get myself into position near the front. That meant having to put in a huge effort at the back with the crosswinds."

One thing that was widely noted however, was the lack of help given to Martinez as he yo-yoed at the back of the bunch, being repeatedly dropped over the course of the day. The Frenchman himself however, is keen to stress that he didn't actually ask for any help. "I made it back into the peloton at least five times, so no, I wouldn’t have wanted that," he explained. "We’ve got Santiago Buitrago riding for the general classification, and I’d rather they looked after him than me."