Lenny Martinez is only 19 years of age but one of the most promising climbers in pro cycling. He has taken his first pro win today, winning the mountainous Mont Ventoux Denivelé Challenge.
The race was shortened due to the risks of poor weather which significantly affected the race. The final ascent of Mont Ventoux was not raced, and the race would end at the summit of the first passage through the finish, in the climb's top however with a shallower climb and only 99 kilometers in the legs.
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With this, five riders took advantage of the hilly start to go up the road. Asier Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Pablo Castrillo (Equipo Kern Pharma), Jose Maria Garcia (Electro Hiper Europa), Léo Danès (CIC U Nantes) and Valentin Retaillau (AG2R Citroën Team) formed the day's breakaway.
Within the final 24-kilometer climb, the first two third were not too hard, there Castrillo attacked solo off the front, his effort proved valiant but eventually he was reeled in with 5 kilometers to go with a fast-moving peloton behind. Movistar forced the pace early on, Groupama-FDJ then assisted as both looked to set up their pure climbers.
As the riders entered the hardest section of the climb Cristian Rodríguez attacked followed by Lenny Martínez, they were shortly caught but alongside Einer Rubio followed the attack of Michael Woods. Rubio cracked afterwards whilst Simon Carr and Ivan Sosa bridged across to the front group.
Woods and Rodríguez made a few moves but without collaboration in the group the pace slowed down and several riders joined just outside the final kilometer. Domenico Pozzovivo took to the front of the group to set the pace for Woods and it came down to a sprint.
Martínez and Woods rode side by side for a few seconds, but in the final straight the Frenchman had the best legs and took the victory. Simon Carr took third place on the day.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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🏅🇫🇷Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) gana el CIC Mont Ventoux 2023 🇫🇷 #CICMV #Noticiclismo #Ciclismo
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