That’s a first participation he will remember. On Saturday, Lenny Martinez tasted the Strade Bianche for the first time, and he did not go unnoticed. A few days after his second win of the season on the Trofeo Laigueglia, the French climber fought for the front positions in Tuscany, although far behind Tadej Pogacar, a winner after a long solo. In the chase, the 20-year-old first teamed up with Valentin Madouas before claiming eighth place of the day. The French champion crossed the line in fifteenth position and all the riders of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team completed this 2024 edition, longer than the previous ones.
“I felt like I was on a Belgian Classic”, Lenny Martinez
The 18th edition of the Strade Bianche came with a proper innovation on Saturday. For the first time in the – short – history of the race, more than 200 kilometres were on the menu, due to the repetition of a circuit around Siena. Instead of the 185 kilometers previously covered, the riders then had 215 to complete, with the sectors of Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe to repeat in the last twenty terminals. All of which had the consequence of pushing back the iconic sector of Monte Sante Marie to almost 80 kilometers from the finish. Yet, although the race was longer, this did not create any rest, and a nervous peloton actually covered the first hour of racing at an average of 45 km/h. “It started off on very high standards, with no proper breakaway,” explained Yvon Caër. “The pace was crazy.” “At the beginning I felt like I was on a Belgian Classic or Paris-Roubaix,” said Lenny Martinez. “There was a lot of tension.” Five riders still found their way to the front, namely Dion Smith, Mark Donovan, Nils Brun, Lawson Craddock and Anders Halland Johannessen, but their lead barely reached two minutes. The peloton was quick to get going, and after almost twenty consecutive kilometres of “Strade Bianche” through the fifth and sixth sectors, the fugitives were already on the verge of being caught. The 100-kilometre mark was barely crossed, while Romain Grégoire suffered a crash within an already small peloton.
Then, the San Martino in Grania sector was tackled under the rain, the break was reeled in, and new attacks came along. Soon enough, the bunch reduced to just fifty riders, as Valentin Madouas, Lenny Martinez, and Romain Grégoire managed to hang on. Right after, the riders approached the legendary Monte Sante Marie sector, where the race blew apart. The bunch split into several pieces, then Tadej Pogacar went alone, with 81 kilometers to go. At the end of the sector, the Slovenian was already more than a minute ahead of his chasers, reduced to around ten. Firstly in trouble, Lenny Martinez managed to bridge across to the pursuit group. “I struggled a lot in the first sectors,” said the young man. “I found it hard to get back into position, but then I worked my way up group by group. It was really chaotic out there.” About ten kilometres further, the French champion Valentin Madouas also managed to join the chasing group of about twenty men. “Following his crash, Romain sacrificed himself to bring Valentin back,” said Yvon. “Without him, Valentin probably would not have made it back to the front.” On the other hand, hopes of victory quickly vanished for the competition on Saturday. “On the radio, I could hear two minutes, three minutes, even though we were riding hard,” Lenny said. “Pogacar was at another level. Honestly, when we found ourselves in chase with Valentin, I had given up on the idea of winning.”
“I’m happy with what I’ve done,” Lenny Martinez
While the Slovenian flew to victory, the fight for the remaining places was on in the back. “We would watch each other, ride, then attack each other,” Lenny explained. “With Valentin, we each had to follow the attacks in order to share out the work.” After a few accelerations, the group reduced slightly, then Maxim Van Gils managed to go on his own, before Toms Skujins did the same at the end of the circuit’s first lap. Tom Pidcock also managed to open a gap while Lenny Martinez found himself in the next group with five riders. He also tried to make a push on the penultimate sector, seventeen kilometres from the finish, but was unable to get rid of his rivals. Then, he just tried to hold on in the final “white road” of “Le Tolfe”. The last ten kilometres on the asphalt did not create any change, and the young man from Groupama-FDJ therefore got at the bottom of the Via Santa Caterina (700m at 9%) with fifth place at stake. After a last, tough effort, he eventually took eight on the Piazza del Campo in Siena, almost five minutes after the winner. “In the last climb, my legs were empty,” he said. “It was a very, very hard day, almost all the time full gas. It’s a great experience, and I’m happy with what I’ve done. It’s a great reward to finish eighth in my maiden Strade Bianche. It was really different from what I knew. I’m happy to be doing a bit of everything and testing myself on this kind of race.”
“Valentin is now 100% ready”, Yvon Caër
At 20 years old, Lenny Martinez keeps his dazzling start to the season going, with two victories, a second place on O Gran Camiño and a top-10 on the Strade Bianche. “Lenny is surprising us, once again,” added Yvon Caër. “He is not used to these races, but he brilliantly discovers these dynamics and profiles. It’s really satisfying.” A year after his podium in Siena, Valentin Madouas obtained fifteenth place on Saturday. “We can always have a feeling of unfinished business, but from the moment Pogacar left, we were racing for second,” added Yvon. “I think Valentin lacked a bit of confidence. He has just recovered from his crash in Algarve. He lacked some markers, perhaps certain efforts, but I am sure that it is now 100% ready and that bodes very well for the future. “Chapeau” also to the other riders who sacrificed for Lenny and Valentin. Lewis also crashed, and he could have gone further, even if that’s the nature of this race. Regardless, it was an extremely harsh race, and all of our riders finished it. It’s satisfying.”
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