Lenny Martínez explains unexpected departure from Groupama - FDJ: "I knew that at some point in my career, I wanted to go abroad"

Lenny Martínez is only 21 years of age but already has quite a lot of experience to his young career. He turned pro in 2023 with a World Tour team, quickly became one of the leaders, and has now moved from his 'confortable' setting to a foreign team for a new experience. His explains his departure from Groupama-FDJ to Bahrain - Victorious, as well as talk about the Tour de France and his unusual training schedule.

“I started the season strong. The end of the season was less successful, but overall, it was a very good year. There were still plenty of victories. I’m really happy with what I’ve achieved. At the beginning of the year, I didn’t think I’d accomplish so much," the Frenchman said in words to Eurosport.

In 2023, his first year as a pro, he won the Mont Ventoux classic at age 19, and then fresh after turning 20 he led the Vuelta a España for two days after being in the same breakaway that led Sepp Kuss to overall success. In 2024 he took five wins, all in one-day races. But after heavy rumours of his departure towards Bahrain, his initial schedule was changed and he was moved to the Tour de France roster where he struggled as he lacked form. He did not race the Vuelta a España as intended and results-wise his season ended before the Tour.

Now, he takes on a new environment, in a team with plenty climbers of similar quality. “The goal is to make progress because that’s important when you’re young like me. Then we’ll aim to win races and perform even better in general classifications, for example, in one-week stage races.”

There was a big mix of signings from the Bahrain team, but Martínez has quickly adapted to it. "At first, it wasn’t easy because everything is in English. Even though I speak a bit of English, it takes some time to adjust. As the days go by, it starts to feel better. When you spend two weeks with the team, you already speak better English by the end of it. So it’s okay, it’s cool". At first his transfer looks quite unusual, specially as he was seen as France's next hope and new leader of a French team. But that isn't what Martínez wanted.

"I wanted a change. I knew that at some point in my career, I wanted to go abroad. But I didn’t know when. Now I had the opportunity with Bahrain," he explains. He wasn't allowed to speak to the media until the 1st of January because of his former team, but now there are no barriers for him to talk about his new teammates. "There are a lot of good things here. There’s a strong focus on climbing. There are also multiple general classification riders, like Antonio Tiberi, who finished fifth in the Giro d’Italia, and Santiago Buitrago, who made the top 10 in the Tour de France, I believe. So, we’re going to keep improving and try to take the team to a higher level."

Amongst those plans is the Tour de France, but for a rider with a very modest time-trial and a lot of pressure from the French crowd, he is already well aware that he's got to work on containing expectations. "I dream of that myself. But for now, it’s still a pretty distant goal. There are many steps to take before I can start thinking about the podium. That would be great. In the long term, I’m thinking about the Tour. In two or three years, we’ll see whether I go for the general classification or stage wins. We’ll figure that out when the time comes". This year, he should race the Tour, as well as Paris-Nice and the Criterium du Dauphiné. But that is only part of the change. 

He will take on a completely new training schedule, it will be interesting to see if the Frenchman takes another jump in his evolution. "First, by doing more altitude camps. Of course, I did altitude camps with my previous team, but I think I’ll do more of them now. I also have a new coach. This gives the body a different stimulus. Even though I was only with FDJ for 2–3 years, changing everything can help the body continue to grow."

He explains however that (although he is still a young rider) that he finds it best to take frequent resting periods, as he explains: "I don’t train a lot. Of course, I train, but much less than some others. I need a lot of rest periods during the season. Last year, I often took a week off. For the average rider, that’s a lot, but that’s how my body works. I actually see it as a good thing."

But above all, Martínez will want to fit in and stay away from the spotlight so as to avoid having too much weight on his shoulders that can later come as a consequence. "I come in with the label of a leader. But I’ll just train as I’m used to, give my best in races and training sessions. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t. I always give my best, and we’ll see."