Mathieu Warnier, media365: published on Saturday May 03, 2025 at 8:55 p.m.
Beaten by Jay Vine this Friday at the arrival of the 3rd stage of the Tour de Romandie, Lenny Martinez confided that it had fueled his desire to win this Saturday in Thyon 2000, a success which allows him to take the jersey of the general classification.
David Gaudu had mentioned the idea at the start. On the heights of Thyon 2000, Lenny Martinez was the strongest against João Almeida to win the Reine stage of the Romandie Tour. “He told me that I was going to win and be in yellow, and it’s real,” said comments collected by the site Cyclism’Actu The runner of the Bahrain Victorious team about his former teammate at Groupama-FDJ. I am not yet Tadej Pogacar to win with 4 minutes in advance, but it’s incredible to win. And another victory in World Tour! Indeed, beyond the only stage victory, the tricolor runner grabbed orders from the general classification of the event on the eve of the last stage. A success that has a taste of revenge after seeing the victory escaped him shortly this Friday in Cossonay, beaten by a clearer Jay Vine in the last hectometers.
Martinez: “I managed to get out of it thanks to my punch”
“I wanted to take revenge and win a little, I knew it was possible,” confirmed the son of the former Olympic mountain bike champion Miguel Martinez. Faced with a “super long” final climb, it was the mind that played in order to seek the victory while the UAE Team Emirates-XRG team “rolled super hard”. “At the end, I managed to get out of it thanks to my punch, facing João Almeida who was very strong too,” added Lenny Martinez. Above all, you shouldn’t let a UAE go by itself, when they were trying to distance Lorenzo Fortunato for the general. Race circumstances that played for the Habs, which signs its second success of the year after dominating the 5th stage of Paris-Nice last March. A final sprint that he admitted to having been complicated in the face of the “good explosiveness” of his Portuguese opponent. “We were really at the shoulder at the end, I saw him come back to my left, I was a little afraid,” added Lenny Martinez.
Martinez: “I’m going to give everything, you never know”
“In the turn just before the line, I thought I was not going to succeed in imposing myself, but then I saw the line and I just gave everything,” he said. I am very happy to win for the team anyway. It is with the yellow jersey of leader in the general classification that the runner of the Bahrain Victorious team will start on the 17.1 kilometers of the final trial traced around Geneva. With only three seconds of margin on João Almeida, the tricolor concedes that “it will be a bit complicated” and gives himself a realistic objective. “If tomorrow (Sunday), I’m on the general’s podium, I will be very happy. I’m going to give everything, you never know, he concluded. A step is better than a top 5 for me. It’s going to be a good test for me, but I am especially happy to have won a step, more than to make a good general classification. In any case, Lenny Martinez has already succeeded in his Romandie tour, the rest will be bonus.
