The Frenchman Lenny Martinez won the queen stage and the yellow jersey of the Romandie Tour on Saturday.
At 21, the Bahrain Victorious prodigy offered himself with cold the eighth professional success of his career, the second in World Tour after the fifth stage of Paris-Nice in March.
“It’s just incredible”
“Each year, I only improve myself, and that’s it: I am wearing the yellow jersey. Being a leader in such a race by step, and also winning a step is just incredible, “said the pocket climber (1.68 m) with the RTS.
Second in the day before, the Frenchman has taken the first four difficulties of this part of Sion – more than 4,000 m of elevation gain condensed in 128 km – before making the difference in the 20 km to Thyon 2000.
Revenge on 2023
Launched three kilometers from the summit in a duel with Almeida, after already a big job of the UAEs to skim the peloton, Martinez has taken the least possible to accelerate just before the line and supplant the Portuguese.
“I have a good explosiveness, I know that Joao too”, and “in the end it was a little freshness,” said the Cannois, hardly embarrassed by altitude, the fall in temperatures and the road to soggy after a summer week.
-Martinez raises his arms to the very place where he had not been able to accompany his leader of the Groupama FDJ, Thibaut Pinot, second in Thyon in the Tour de Romandie 2023, to the end.
Suspense before the time trial
In the general classification, he chips the yellow jersey to a compatriot, Alex Baudin, to count two seconds ahead of the Italian Lorenzo Fortunato and three on Joao Almeida.
But the differences are so weak – Almeida and Martinez having counted their efforts rather than looking for their pursuers at a distance – that the suspense is intact before the final time trial of 17 km on Sunday in Geneva: six runners are still held in one minute.
Envenepoel cracks 9km from the finish
“I don’t think it suits me 100%, but I’m going to give everything, you never know,” said the Frenchman, who will then go at altitude to prepare the Critérium du Dauphiné then the Tour de France.
Big favorite of this time trial, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel is still far from its best form, for its first team test since its serious fall in training in early December.
Loked almost nine kilometers from the finish, the double Olympic champion limited the damage by finishing the ascent to the train. He still points to 9th row, 1 min 41 sec from Martinez.
