We didn’t really imagine discovering his name when the list of riders selected by Groupama FDJ for the Tour de France was announced. Yet it is there. Lenny Martinez is one of the eight elements who will defend the colors of Marc Madiot’s team on the Grande Boucle, which will leave Florence on Saturday. David Gaudu, Kevin Geniets, Romain Grégoire, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Quentin Pacher and Clément Russo were expected and will be there.
This is not necessarily a surprise regarding his performance. Martinez, 20, confirmed his status as a great hope for French cycling in a first half of the season which saw him raise his arms five times (Classic Var, Trofeo Laigueglia, Classic Grand Besançon Doubs, Tour du Doubs, Mercan’ Tour) and sign significant results in World Tour events (8th in the Strade Bianche, 7th in the Tour of Catalonia, 8th in the Tour of Romandie). However, he remained on a more discreet Tour de Suisse (32nd in the general classification) despite a good 6th place in the final time.
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Quid du leadership de Gaudu ?
If it’s a surprise, it’s because Groupama FDJ clearly had no intention of fielding it in the Tour de France. Martinez was instead scheduled for the Vuelta, an event where he distinguished himself last year for the first grand tour of his career by wearing the red jersey, then finishing in 24th place in the general classification and in 9th place in the ranking of the best young person. His departure for Bahrain Victorious at the end of the season, which would be on very good track if not made official, was also seen as a reason not to line him up on the Grande Boucle.
Groupama FDJ ultimately decided otherwise. And this still seems to reshuffle the cards within Marc Madiot’s training. Without Lenny Martinez, David Gaudu, fourth in the Tour de France in 2022, appeared to be the undisputed leader of the French team despite a lackluster start to the season. With Martinez, it’s much less clear. It will remain to be seen how these talents will tune their violins from Saturday departing from Florence.
