Lenny Martinez's start to the season is fantastic.
At only 20 years old, the Groupama-FDJ rider has already won two victories in twelve days, first the Classic Var on February 16, then the Trofeo Laigueglia this Wednesday.
Also second in the general classification of the O Gran Camino, behind the untouchable Jonas Vingegaard, the Frenchman walks on water and confirms all the hopes placed in him.
This Wednesday, he carried out a new demonstration.
Starting alone ten kilometers from the finish, Lenny Martinez perfectly resisted the return of the breakaways and the peloton, despite Colla Micheri who stood in front of him.
Imperial, he finally won alone with 29 seconds ahead of Andrea Vendrame and Juan Ayuso.
Witnessing this incredible form, his sports directors therefore decided to shake up his program, and register him for the Strade Bianche, scheduled for this Saturday.
Initially, he was only supposed to start a race again at the Tour of Catalonia, in mid-March.
“He's doing so well at the moment that we didn't want to stop ourselves from seeing what he can do, from giving him a chance, also taking into account the fact that he has a cyclo-crossman background. », Explained Thierry Bricaud to L’Équipe.
▪ Classic Var 🥇 Gran Camiño 🥈 Trofeo Laigueglia 🥇: Lenny Martinez in 🔥
▪ Lenny Martinez: "There was a great job from the team, as usual"
▪ Thierry Bricaud: "Laigueglia, it's a great line on the charts"
🔗 https://t.co/nrnZY4UqWw pic.twitter.com/dHXfQVqFUS
— Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team (@GroupamaFDJ) February 28, 2024
The Frenchman has never participated in this race on the white roads in Tuscany.
“It’s going to be a discovery, I don’t know at all what to expect,” admitted Lenny Martinez.
I just looked at the course to get an idea.
»He will find tough opponents like Tom Pidcock, Julian Alaphilippe, Simon Yates, Tadej Pogacar, Christophe Laporte and his teammate Romain Grégoire.