"I wanted revenge today" - Lenny Martinez destroys Paris-Nice climbers up ultra-steep climb

Lenny Martínez is an incredibly talented climber and today he found the perfect conditions to take his first win with Bahrain - Victorious. The French rider and today he was able to put his good form to perfect use as he won up the ultra-steep final ascent at Paris-Nice ahead of his direct rivals - climbing up the overall classification quite a bit.

Up La Loge des Gardes he attacked on two occasions, only to be counter-attacked by Jonas Vingegaard himself. He finished within the first spots of the stage, however he felt like he had the legs, even in this peloton, to take a stage win this week. "I knew since yesterday that I had the legs. Then I just missed winning, and I was a bit disappointed. I wanted revenge today," the 21-year old said in a post-race interview.

"I think it's fantastic that I was able to win here in Paris-Nice. To be honest, I didn't think about him," he said of the yellow jersey Vingegaard who suffered a consequential crash today. "I did see at one point that his shoulders were starting to roll, and that he was breaking".

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Martínez did not have a perfect leadout into the climb, but as it turns out that didn't prove to be key on the day. Mattias Skjelmose, a direct rival, did have and then cracked once the climb started. Martínez followed his instinct instead and when the gradients began to rise, so did his position in the group - a clear sign that he was going to be a threat in the fight for the stage win.

"I wanted to stay in Julian [Alaphilippe]'s wheel because I knew that was the right one." A few riders cracked under the rhythm of Matteo Jorgenson, but Martínez always followed, and then launched his sprint at the perfect time to still put in some seconds on Jorgenson himself. "But I managed to come back, and I knew that I had to launch my sprint after the bend. It was a perfect plan. When I launched my sprint I looked back, and I didn't see anyone in my wheel anymore. That was an incredible feeling".

For the Bahrain - Victorious rider, this is a key win, and it also boosts him up to 5th in the overall classification, 55 seconds behind the American. "I always do better than I dare to hope. I never dared to dream of a victory in Paris-Nice this year. I surprise myself every day. I haven't won for a long time, so I'm very happy to win here. It's an incredible feeling to win here with my new team," he concluded.

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