The 2024 cycling season has barely ended when Lenny Martinez is already planning on the next one, clearly displaying his ambitions. “I am going to do a lot of preparation this winter, on and off the bike to achieve my goals”advances the French runner who, victim of a fall in training on 1is October, was unable to line up on Saturday October 12 at the start of the Tour of Lombardy, the last major meeting of the year. His goals? “I want to win the Tour [de France] »he says. No more, no less. Without however specifying when.
It was with this ambition in mind that at the age of 21 he chose to leave the ranks of the French team Groupama-FDJ. He had started there as a junior and was reaching the end of his contract. For the next three seasons, the climber will ride under the colors of the Bahrain-Victorious team, with whom he signed on August 4, and where he says he was recruited for “take on a leadership role”.
If he does not go so far as to mention a victorious Tour de France with Lenny Martinez, Milan Erzen, director of Bahrain-Victorious, considers that the Frenchman can aim for a podium: “When I started this project [d’équipe cycliste] In 2017, I dreamed of getting a podium in the Tour de France with a French rider from our team. I think Lenny gives us this chance”he assured at the beginning of August in a press release.
If Lenny Martinez explains that he “would have liked” that his departure from the Groupama-FDJ team “coming later”, it is immediately to recall that, while being ” grateful ” vis-à-vis“an unforgettable family”he has “always said he wanted to go abroad”. “There are a lot of expectations around mehe adds, almost embarrassed. Many teams, foreign and French, came to approach me, which is quite rare in the world of cycling. »
“A year that was cut in two”
It was the 2023 Tour of Spain which highlighted him, and contributed to adding a first name to the Martinez line. During the 6e stage, the son of Miguel – Olympic mountain bike champion in 2000, in Sydney (Australia) – and grandson of Mariano – polka dot jersey of best climber of the Tour de France in 1978 – had donned the red jersey of leader of the Vuelta for his first participation in a grand tour.
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After this feat of arms, Lenny Martinez was labeled, by those in the know, the hope of world cycling. The 2024 season has not confirmed these expectations. “It’s a year that has been cut in two, with some very good and some not so good”, admits the person concerned.
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