Forward of his winter transfer to Bahrain Victorious this winter, Lenny Martinez has outlined a future aim of successful the Tour de France.
The extremely rated 21-year-old has already claimed six one-day race victories together with the CIC-Mont Ventoux and Trofeo Laigueglia throughout his first two years as knowledgeable. He is now set to maneuver on from Groupama-FDJ to Bahrain, the place he is anticipated to proceed his improvement right into a high climber and Grand Tour contender.
Martinez, who has already raced each the Vuelta a España and Tour de France, informed Le Monde that the Tour is his final profession aim.
“I’ll do quite a lot of preparation this winter, on and off the bike, to attain my targets,” he stated earlier than including, “I wish to win the Tour.
“To beat Tadej Pogačar, you must put all the possibilities in your facet,” he added, referring to his crew swap.
Martinez’s transfer to Bahrain got here after a protracted interval of rumours linking him with a transfer away from French squad Groupama-FDJ. His signing with Bahrain on a three-year deal was confirmed shortly after biking’s switch window opened initially of August.
Regardless of that, Martinez stated that he “would have favored” to remain on longer with Groupama, saying he had hoped his transfer away from the squad would have “come later”.
He did, nonetheless, say how “grateful” he was to the French crew – “an unforgettable household” for his or her key position in creating him up to now whereas restating that he “all the time stated he needed to go overseas.”
Martinez additionally stated that he had a selection of a number of completely different groups for 2025 and past. He’ll reportedly earn €800,000 per 12 months through the course of his Bahrain contract.
“There are quite a lot of expectations round me,” he stated. “Many groups, each overseas and French, got here to strategy me, which is kind of uncommon on the planet of biking.”
Within the interview, Martinez additionally mirrored on his 2024 marketing campaign, which noticed him take wins at Laigueglia, the Traditional Var, Traditional Grand Besançon, Tour du Doubs and the Traditional Alpes-Maritimes through the first half of the season.
He additionally completed second at O Gran Camiño and completed within the high 10 at Strade Bianche, although his second half of the 12 months introduced much less success. He began the Tour de France having earlier been mooted to tackle the Vuelta for a second time. In France, he completed 124th, with an Eleventh-place end within the closing time trial his finest outcome.
“It was lower in two, with good and dangerous,” he stated of his season. “Every little thing was going badly. My legs have been not delivering coaching.
“I needed to participate in my first Tour de France with a French crew. I’ve gained expertise for the long run,” he concluded, placing a constructive spin on his first outing on the race he sooner or later hopes to win.
