French climber Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) has signed a three-year deal with Bahrain Victorious, as part of a plan to target the Tour de France in years to come.
21-year-old Martinez is viewed as one of the most promising young climbers in the WorldTour peloton. He has already won six races and last year he became the youngest ever leader of the Vuelta a España after a strong first week.
Rumours of his departure from Groupama-FDJ to Bahrain Victorious have circulated for several months. the confirmation only arrived on Saturday in an announcement from his new team for 2025.
“I am extremely happy to join Team Bahrain Victorious for the next three seasons. The solid project around the team and myself convinced me. Together, we have great ambitions, and I am convinced we will achieve great things," Martinez said.
"I would like to thank the Groupama FDJ team, who accompanied me during my first years in the professional ranks."
Milan Erzen, Bahrain Victorious team manager said: “When we started this project in 2017, we dreamed of achieving a podium at the Tour de France with a French rider from our team. We believe Lenny gives us that chance. His talent, dedication, and spirit align perfectly with our team’s vision.”
This year Martinez demonstrated his impressive racing versatility with eighth place in Strade Bianche, victory in the mountainous Mercan’Tour Classic, second behind Jonas Vingegaard in the O Gran Camiño stage race, and two one-day wins in France in the space of three days in the Tour du Doubs and Classic Grand Besançon Doubs.
Martínez rode a lacklustre Tour de France this July, where he was a last-minute addition to the Groupama-FDJ squad. Although an eleventh place in the final TT in Nice suggested he was coming into better form as the race continued.
He is pencilled in to race both the Clásica San Sebastian and then return to the Vuelta later this summer. However, his participation in both events has yet to be definitively confirmed by Groupama-FDJ.
