Lenny Martinez may have missed out on the overall victory at
the 2025 Tour de Romandie, but the young French climber still walks away with
his first WorldTour stage race podium, and plenty of pride.
After a stunning ride on Saturday’s Queen Stage, where he
out-sprinted João Almeida to take the stage win and the yellow jersey, Martinez
saw his lead slip away in Sunday’s decisive 17km time trial. The UAE Team
Emirates – XRG rider delivered a powerful ride to place second on the day, just
12 seconds behind Remco Evenepoel, and claim the overall title. Martinez
finished 13th on the stage, 30 seconds back, and had to settle for second in
the general classification.
Speaking to Cyclism’Actu after the stage, Martinez
was philosophical about the result.
"I'm doing a good time. I was aiming for a podium
overall, even if a top 5 would still have been a good week for me. I knew it
would be complicated today on a course that wasn't super hard. But I'm not
disappointed at all, when I see that I'm 30 seconds behind Joao Almeida. I
couldn't push any faster. If it had been for 5 seconds, I might have been
disappointed, but there... He was stronger, there's no problem. It's a very
good week, I couldn't have hoped for better. It's my first podium in a WorldTour
stage race, with a stage win and even a 2nd place the day before, it's very
good."
The young Bahrain – Victorious rider gained invaluable
experience throughout the week and praised the team around him for their
growing cohesion and support.
"I learned a lot this week, it was a real-life test. I
had days when I wasn't feeling well, others when I was doing well... and that's
it, you can't give up. Over the course of a week, the sensations fluctuate a
lot, it's never constant. I knew how to have good legs on the decisive stages,
so I'm pretty happy. I'm starting to find my feet with the Bahrain Victorious,
I have a very good team around me. We're starting to work well together.
They're seeing more and more how to position me, they're adapting a lot to me
and I thank them."
Martinez now plans to take a short break before resuming his
build-up to the summer's biggest races.
"My plan? It's now 3 days off without cycling, vacation
in Andorra, and then after that, go back to Teide, and Dauphiné then Tour de
France."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
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MarkFour07-11-2026 - This is a really interesting idea, which, if well prepared could even be very successful. Very little money needs to be involved for a first season and any success could lead to rapid interest from sponsors.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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