Teams & Riders Greatness Comes in Small Frames! Lenny, The French Martinez - Thread

[Rob5091]

He's probably suffering as he's never done a GT before and might well have over done it when he had the red jersey.

 

[saunaking]

So is the Lenny collapse just due to his young age and inexperience, or is he struggling with something?

Im not sure what we can expect from him. Seems very very small and fragile.

 

[Netserk]

It has been the same in all stage races of the year. Even in Catalunya when he was 6th on Lo Port, he was quite mediocre in the harder stages. Which is also why I didn't expect him to do well in GC here, unlike Uijtdebroeks.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

It has been the same in all stage races of the year. Even in Catalunya when he was 6th on Lo Port, he was quite mediocre in the harder stages. Which is also why I didn't expect him to do well in GC here, unlike Uijtdebroeks.

Harder stages? Where? Vallter 2000 had one climb before it and is a slightly easier MTF, and La Molina is La Molina. And Lo Port was also the final MTF of the three, which should have been a decent sign in terms of recovery ability.

 

[Netserk]

Harder stages? Where? Vallter 2000 had one climb before it and is a slightly easier MTF, and La Molina is La Molina. And Lo Port was also the final MTF of the three, which should have been a decent sign in terms of recovery ability.

Harder, yes. Not necessarily hard.

Lo Port was a pancake before the last climb. It was a 24' effort, no more.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Harder, yes. Not necessarily hard.

Lo Port was a short pancake before the last climb.

Do you really think that having Coll d'Ares before Vallter 2000 is the main reason he did worse there than on Lo Port? I think it's really just general inconsistency, and his Dauphiné (where he was 23rd of the GC group on the easy Crest-Voland stage, then 12th on the queen stage to Croix de Fer, before finally having a bad day on the Grenoble stage and losing four minutes) would back that up.

He also did great in the hardest U23 mountain stage I've ever seen, fwiw.

 

[Rob5091]

So is the Lenny collapse just due to his young age and inexperience, or is he struggling with something?

According to -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...nd-tour-debut-with-a-strong-breakaway-showing
(quote)Author of a magnificent first week, including wearing the red jersey for two days, Lenny Martinez subsequently disappeared, diminished by an illness which prevented him from racing at his best level.

"The feelings have returned and it's nice to finish on a good note, giving everything in the breakaway and emptying the tank all the way to the line. I tried and gave everything to get the victory, but we will come back," explained the French climber on the Groupama-FDJ website.

"Lenny fought well in front, he had good legs. He didn't miss much to switch with the five, but it really came down to his leg. The only big regret today is Romain who misses the breakaway by just a fraction. With Lenny and him in front, it would have been more playable and the course suited him," concluded the sports director Benoît Vaugrenard.

The 20-year-old Martinez will now try to catch his breath and gather as much strength as possible before his final stance in 2023 at Italian autumn classics, topped off by his Monument debut at Il Lombardia.(end quote)

So he was ill after being in the red jersey. Probably something similar to what Vingegaard had. He'll have Pinot & Gaudu for company at il Lombardia so we'll have to see how that goes.

 

[SafeBet]

Even disregarding possible recovery issues, it's extremely hard to be a GT rider with such a tiny frame. He's at least 6 kgs lighter than the lightest GT riders around, so I'm not sure he can push the raw watts required in the flat and rolling stages without getting very fatigued. Of course some of those stages are soft pedalled but there's always a couple of them in GTs with the bunch going full gas (wind, dangerous riders in the break, etc).

Rooting for him though. If he can improve further as a climber he will be hard to deal with in the mountains for a long time.

 

[Rob5091]

He was only 20 in July so hopefully he'll keep on improving for a few years yet. Quintana and Bernal have shown that even smaller guys can hang with the peloton.

 

[Rob5091]

In the battle of the Lenny's, I think Martinez came out on top in 2023. The Tour though will have to wait, although if Gaudu can not come up with something soon, Little Lenny will become the Big French Hope.
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...-martinez-in-no-rush-for-tour-de-france-debut

“I don't necessarily want to do the Tour at the moment," Groupama - FDJ's CIC - Mont Ventoux winning prodigy tells Cyclism'Actu, insisting that time is on his side and that there is no rush for him. "I'm still young, I still have a lot of time ahead of me, so I'm not necessarily in a hurry to do it."

Looking back on his first year at World Tour level though, there's a lot for Martinez to be proud of. "It's been a first year beyond my expectations, I can only be satisfied," reflects the 20-year-old. "I'm very happy to have won a race and to have worn a leader's jersey on a Grand Tour. I also took a few slaps in races that were not to my advantage, but that's part of cycling and overall, I loved everything during this first year."

With Groupama - FDJ's talismanic figurehead, Thibaut Pinot retiring, the space is open for someone to fill Pinot's shoes. Could Martinez be the next leader of the team and the big hope of French cycling?

 

[Rob5091]

Little Lenny and Gaudu to the Vuelta and the Tour will have to wait until 2025.
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...ent-to-target-vuelta-a-espana-again-this-year

 

[Rob5091]

Great performance by Little Lenny M in the Gran Camino - 2nd on GC to Vingegaard. Next race is Catalunya according to PCS.

 

[Rob5091]

Well, if you've got your "sick day" excuse ready for Tuesday, then maybe make it two as Wednesday is Trofeo Laigueglia with little Lenny M (according to PCS). Last year was done in pouring rain and won by a brave ride by Nan Peters.

 

[Rob5091]

The Lennys are lighting up pro-cycling in the early season races. Good win to hang on at Trofeo Laigueglia - he'll be a marked man in the future though.

 

[armchairclimber]

He is deffo one of my new fave riders.

 

[armchairclimber]

Not a bad effort today either. Quite a week or two.

 

[Rob5091]

For a guy with his stature, an outstanding performance at Strade Bianche. Better even then team mate Madouas.

 

[Tonton]

Wow! That's a good way to start the year, with a new role in the team. Bravo Lenny, that was a great ride again today. This is a year of growth, it's way too early to favor one type of future over another: Lenny is proving that he can be there and attack at the highest level. I'm thrilled!

 

[pastronef]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1764207808528973991

View: https://twitter.com/jauzy19/status/1764207808528973991


oh please yes

 

[Rob5091]

After tussling with Vingegaard at O Gran Camino, Little Lenny M is off to Catalunya to show Pogacar what he can do. Should be fun!

 

[pastronef]

super win in Grand Besancon today. last climb record too. I never imagined I'd shout for a FDJ rider (well, it's Bahrain's fault tbf )