Seen by many as the next big hope of French Grand Tour cycling, 20-year-old Lenny Martinez has already worn the Red Jersey at the Vuelta a Espana and taken five career victories.
Although there has been much talk about his future recently, with Bahrain - Victorious reportedly set to give the Frenchman a massive pay rise in order to lure him away from Groupama - FDJ, it is with the French-based team that Martinez is riding for currently, finishing a solid 26th in the prologue at the Tour de Romandie this Tuesday afternoon.
"The idea was to achieve Top 10 at the Volta a Catalunya, Top 10 at the Tour de Romandie and Top 10 in a Grand Tour," Martinez assesses in conversation with AFP. With a seventh-placed finish in Catalunya, one of those goals is already checked off. "I tell myself that maybe I can do a little better but there are still riders like Juan Ayuso that I am below. But the more the years go by, the closer I get."
Martinez also has two Grand Tour stars to look up to in the peloton. “Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, they are really inspiring. They are the ones I look at. They motivate me to try to get closer,” Martinez continues, both former Tour de France winners, something the 20-year-old dreams of emulating. “I have the dream of winning the Tour de France, like many riders.”
Not this year however. "I preferred not to do the Tour this year because I think I still have a lot to learn. I want to do something great in the Vuelta a Espana. We're not going to change the plans," Martinez explains in conclusion.
A l’issue de ce prologue inaugural, Lenny Martinez termine à 6 secondes du vainqueur du jour Maikel Zijlaard. Reprise avec le sourire pour Rudy Molard qui passe la ligne avec un retard de 14 secondes, quelques dixièmes derrière David Gaudu. Lenny Martinez finished 26th, 6…
