“It’s the first time I’ve managed to follow him!” - Lenny Martinez buzzing despite missed chance to become first rider to beat both Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in 2026

Lenny Martinez came within touching distance of a rare milestone at the Tour de Romandie, matching Tadej Pogacar on the decisive climb before narrowly missing out on the chance to become the first rider to defeat both him and Jonas Vingegaard in 2026.

Having already beaten Vingegaard in a two-up sprint at Paris-Nice earlier this season, the Frenchman found himself in position to complete that double on stage 1 in Switzerland. Instead, after going all-in to follow Pogacar’s attack, he faded in the sprint, finishing just behind the stage winner.

Speaking after the stage in a post-race interview with Cycling Pro Net, Martinez focused less on what he missed and more on what he proved.

“It was nice. It’s the first time I’ve managed to follow him,” he said after holding Pogacar’s wheel on the slopes of Ovronnaz. “It’s always strange to be on his wheel. Even though I’m a pro rider, I still watch him on TV and think it must be crazy to be there with him, and that was the case today.”

The key moment of the stage came when Pogacar accelerated on the steep gradients, immediately forcing a selection among the general classification contenders. Martinez was the only rider able to respond straight away, a clear sign of both his form and his growing confidence at this level. Florian Lipowitz would later return to the front, but the initial move underlined Martinez’s ability to live with the very best climber in the race.

He explained that his condition early in the race helped him make that effort. “It was the first stage back after a break, I felt quite fresh and that’s why I still had something left in the final,” he said.

That effort ultimately came at a cost when the stage came down to a sprint. “In the sprint I was completely dead, I had nothing left.”

The stage was decided by a four-rider sprint between Pogacar, Lipowitz, Martinez and Jorgen Nordhagen, with the Slovenian taking the win.

Martinez admitted he was unsure of his exact placing immediately after the finish. “I don’t know if I finished second or third, it was a photo finish with Florian I think,” he said. “But it was a nice first stage.”

Even without the victory, the performance carries weight. To follow Pogacar on a climb like Ovronnaz and remain in contention for the win reinforces Martinez’s status as one of the most dangerous climbers in the race. More importantly, it places him directly in the conversation alongside the riders who have defined the season so far.

“Yes, I’m surprised,” he said. “I knew I had recovered well after Flèche Wallonne, but I expected the first stages to be a bit difficult while getting back into rhythm. But to follow Tadej like that, I surprised myself a bit on the climb.”

Riding alongside Pogacar also offered a rare glimpse into how the Slovenian operates in the heat of competition. Martinez described a calm presence, even as the race reached its most intense moments. “He was calm, it was fine,” he said. “When it was my turn to go through, honestly it’s not that I didn’t want to, but I was really at my limit in the final. I was completely dead, and he didn’t get annoyed either. So yeah, it was good, he’s pretty chill.”

The opportunity to complete that early-season double over both Pogacar and Vingegaard slipped away in the final metres, but the broader takeaway was clear. Martinez has shown he can match the very best when it matters, and that alone reshapes expectations for what could follow over the rest of the week.