Lenny Martínez virtually confirmed to join Bahrain - Victorious and have substantial salary increase

Lenny Martínez has been connected with Bahrain - Victorious for several months already and at this point in the season it is virtually confirmed that he will make the switch from Groupama - FDJ. Alongside it, his salary will also get a major boost.

This is reported by RMC Sport who claim that Martínez has already signed a three-year deal with Bahrain where he will be earing just over €800.000 a season, four times superior to the amount he currently makes at Groupama - FDJ according to the French news outlet.

There is little surprise in the interest of other teams in the French youngster who is currently one of the most promising climbers in the peloton. Still only 20 years old, he is already an established figure in the World Tour, winner of the Classic Var and Trofeo Laigueglia this season as well as winning the youth classification at the Volta a Catalunya and Gran Camiño - the latter he finished second only to Jonas Vingegaard.

Martínez already brings very strong performances from last year, which include a stint in the lead of the Vuelta a España. It is however an incredibly difficult blow for the French team, who have lost Thibaut Pinot and Arnaud Démare this season and are having David Gaudu underperform.

Both Martínez and Laurence Pithie, riders who were in the development teams of Groupama, have taken enormous leaps over the last 12 months and have become headline figures in the team, but there is no financial capacity of keeping them against a World Tour peloton growing in size financially speaking.