This Sunday evening, the Tour de France cyclists have completed this 2025 edition of the Grande Boucle. Let’s review the performance of the Maralpin cyclists Lenny Martinez and Clément Champoussin.
There were 184 riders at the start, including two Maralpins with opposing destinies. On one side, the Cannes native Lenny Martinez, who aimed for a stage victory, and on the other, the Nice native Clément Champoussin, the free agent teammate of the XDS Astana team. Despite being in good shape in recent weeks with several top 10 finishes in stages of the Tours of Switzerland and Romandie, he never managed to shine. The young climber turned into a luxury domestique for his leader Sergio Higuita, who finished in 14th place.
Even though he didn’t stand out with his performance, Clément Champoussin had quite a scare yesterday during the 20th stage as he fell in front of the image motorbike. It was a frightening sequence, as the moment could have been dramatic and it circulated widely on social media. Fortunately, the Nice native emerged with only a few burns.
In his third participation in the Tour de France, he finished in 85th place overall with his best result being 22nd place in the time trial between Loudenvielle and Peyragudes.
Lenny Martinez thrilled the French crowd
Although he did not fulfill his goal, Lenny Martinez made the most of his current form. Present in his third Tour de France with the aim of winning a stage, the Cannes cyclist long hoped to bring home the polka dot jersey.
After taking the lead in the mountain classification from the 10th stage at Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, the plan was clear: take the breakaways in the mountains and score maximum points, foregoing stage wins. This is what he did, among others, in the mythical Tourmalet and Glandon, two Hors Catégorie climbs.
Unfortunately, during the last Alpine stage, the Cannes native from the Bahrain Victorious team was penalized after the “sticky bottle” affair. Aid received during a supply from the sports director’s car was deemed illegal, resulting in a 20-point penalty. From then on, things became complicated, especially since the yellow jersey, Tadej Pogacar, hungry for victories this year, scored many points at altitude finishes.
Lenny Martinez ended up third in this classification with 97 points against Tadej Pogacar’s 119 points and Jonas Vingegaard’s 104. Who knows how far he could have gone without this severe sanction… At just 22 years old, he embodies the future of French cycling and one of its greatest hopes for a stage victory. Perhaps even a prestigious classification…
What is certain is that we will see Lenny Martinez attacking again in the coming years, much to the delight of the spectators cheering him on by the roadside!
