"This is the year of my revenge": Daniel Martínez ready to fight for leadership in Red Bull's star-filled climbing team

Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe has undergone a turbulent development in last few seasons and it feels like Daniel Martínez was a bit spat out by the rapid recyclation of GC riders with the aim to find the chosen one who will win the team the desired Tour de France. However we shouldn't forget that Martínez is a Giro d'Italia runner-up from less than two years ago and that talent didn't suddenly disappear at the age of 29. At least that's what the Colombian climber hopes to prove this season.

But to earn a place at a Grand Tour, let alone as a protected rider with the aim towards general classification will be no easy task even for a rider with the renomé of Martínez, he admitted in an interview with El Tiempo: "Gaining a spot will be complicated," as the team aims for a Grand Tour victory in 2026, Martínez knows "the goals of the team are clear."

That's the reason Remco Evenepoel was brought to the team which already has former Tour podium finishers Florian Lipowitz and Primoz Roglic among its ranks. "The big aim is the Tour de France, and we're all aiming in the same direction."

The Belgian got off to a flying start in the first races of the season, winning seven times, before the setback on Jebel Mobrah on UAE Tour stage 3, where Evenepoel cracked and lost two minutes. However Martínez argues this is not a major issue, "everybody knows who he is. He's shown his potential and he's been the star rider of the start of the season. It's clear he's here to win."

And regarding his role in the main races of the season? Martínez is confident his abilities will earn him a rightful role despite the poor 2025 campaign haunted by health issues: "It's the racing that puts everybody where they should be. The legs are what decide. I'm ready to regain puestos in the group."

"I had a lot of health issues and I was sick so I decided to stop racing in August, recover well and look to the next season. These setbacks did not let me have a good year. This is the year of my revenge," he stated categorically. "Last year was really tough, and I want to use 2026 to make up for lost time."

After a second place at the Colombian time trial Championships, Martínez opened his account in Europe at the Volta ao Algarve where he claimed a 6th place on important mountain finish in Fóia, gaining a bit of time over other GC contenders including co-leader Florian Lipowitz further nine seconds down the results.