"I'm still young, I still have a lot of time ahead of me" - Lenny Martinez in no rush for Tour de France debut
Cycling
Just 20 years of age, Lenny Martinez has already begun to make a name for himself in the peloton, wearing the Red Jersey on Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a Espana earlier this year. One of the top prospects in French cycling, how long before he shows himself at the Tour de France?
“I don't necessarily want to do the Tour at the moment," Groupama - FDJ's CIC - Mont Ventoux winning prodigy tells Cyclism'Actu, insisting that time is on his side and that there is no rush for him. "I'm still young, I still have a lot of time ahead of me, so I'm not necessarily in a hurry to do it."
Looking back on his first year at World Tour level though, there's a lot for Martinez to be proud of. "It's been a first year beyond my expectations, I can only be satisfied," reflects the 20-year-old. "I'm very happy to have won a race and to have worn a leader's jersey on a Grand Tour. I also took a few slaps in races that were not to my advantage, but that's part of cycling and overall, I loved everything during this first year."
With Groupama - FDJ's talismanic figurehead, Thibaut Pinot retiring, the space is open for someone to fill Pinot's shoes. Could Martinez be the next leader of the team and the big hope of French cycling?
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
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