"Their approach just didn’t work for me" - Lenny Martinez has no regrets over leaving Groupama - FDJ

One of the biggest hopes for the future of French cycling, Lenny Martinez created an uproar in his homeland towards the end of 2024, when it was announced that the now 21-year-old would be leaving Groupama - FDJ for Bahrain - Victorious. Six months into life at his new team though, it's fair to say that Martinez has been left with no regrets.

“From the moment I turned pro, I knew I didn’t want to spend my entire career with a French outfit. I wanted to discover how things are done elsewhere," Martinez explains in conversation with Wieler Revue. "The opportunity came last winter, and I didn’t want to live with the regret of not taking the chance. I’m happy with my decision — honestly, you could say you’re talking to a new Lenny now.”

Ultimately, whilst Martinez wanted to see how things worked elsewhere, he has actually found things much more to his liking. “It comes down to the small things. I’m now focusing more on my five-minute power and sprint capacity, and when it comes to nutrition, Bahrain - Victorious has things a bit better organised than Groupama - FDJ," he reveals. “Of course, we had a nutritionist at Groupama-FDJ too, but their approach just didn’t work for me. That’s why I started figuring things out myself — how many calories I need each day, and how to track it all in an app. Now that I’m with Bahrain - Victorious, I’ve got more expert support in that area.”

As mentioned however, not all were happy with Martinez's decision, with the Frenchman coming under a lot of fire back in France for his decision to cast aside a career at one of the leading French teams. “It’s not easy to completely shut that out," he admits. "Even if you don’t want to see it, it still gets through somehow. It affected me, but it also made me more mindful about how I use social media.”

To help combat the extra pressures added by online comments, Martinez has recently started working with a mental coach within the Bahrain - Victorious set up. "It’s the next step in my development because I truly believe I can become mentally stronger," he concludes. "We don’t really know the limits of the mind, and I think that could be the key difference in racing.”