Lenny Martinez changes course heading into the third weekend of the Tour de France: 'I’m a little disappointed'

Lenny Martinez was one of the few riders who clearly stated his ambition to win the polka-dot jersey before the Tour de France. Yet the Tour de France took an unexpected turn for the friendly Frenchman from Bahrain Victorious—ironically, thanks to his own strong legs. What’s next? Martinez spoke at length about this in an interview with IDL Pro Cycling.

Martinez finished ninth on Day 6, moving him up to eighth place in the general classification. Afterward, there were doubts about how to proceed. “I don’t know. If Tadej is too dominant for the mountains jersey, we’ll try to switch tactics. But today, it was about both: the mountains jersey and the general classification,” he said at the time.

On Day 10, the diminutive Frenchman was back on track: Martinez finished tenth in the stage to Le Lioran. “It was a really tough stage. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t make it over the summit with the group. I was just six seconds behind at the summit. Still, I was happy to be back like this after the rest day,” he told us Wednesday morning before the start of Stage 11.

That means the Bahrain rider is still close in the standings. In fact, after 12 days of the Tour de France, Martinez is ranked 9th overall. And there are still quite a few mountain stages to come. “I think what’s still to come will suit me better, especially with the longer climbs.”

Because, as the Frenchman realized: “I think I’m better on the slightly longer cols in this Tour de France. There’s still a great route to Paris. For now, I’m trying to stay in the top ten,” he seems to be letting go of the polka-dot jersey for now. Of course, we pressed him further. “I’m thinking less and less about the polka-dot jersey, and more and more about the general classification.”

Of course, the climber from Cannes has good reasons for that. “Especially when I see how dominant Tadej (Pogacar, ed.) is. It (the polka-dot jersey, ed.) is always lingering in the back of my mind, and you never know what might happen in those final stages. For now, I’m mainly focusing on the general classification.”

Martinez already mentioned it briefly, but a lot of this Tour de France hinges on UAE’s tactics. Their dominance got the peloton talking, with riders expressing regret that Pogacar’s team is leaving so few opportunities open. “It’s certainly true that they aren’t giving away many stages,” said the Frenchman.

Still, he certainly understood that decision. “On the other hand, it’s also… they’re not going to hold back either. That means there are fewer opportunities for a breakaway, so that’s a bummer for those riders too. They’re the strongest, so they have every right to go for the win. That’s good for them.”

Martinez saw firsthand just how dominant the UAE team is. “With such a strong team, you can control everything. If they’re happy with that, good for them,” said the rider in ninth place in the general classification, who also revealed his game plan for the second weekend of the Tour. “I’m going to stick close to the guys in the general classification, kind of like I do every day. Who knows, maybe I can move up a bit in the standings. Voilà.”