The Cannois Lenny Martinez confirmed the promising form shown at Paris-Nice 2026 by finishing second overall in the Tour of Catalonia, behind Jonas Vingegaard. A fine result that calls for more successes four months before the Tour de France.
The Tour of Catalonia was largely decided during the sixth stage. Jonas Vingegaard had already built his lead during the two previous mountain days. The Dane then confirmed his dominance by winning this penultimate stage. The hierarchy seemed fixed, but the battle for second place remained open. Lenny Martinez took advantage of this day to create a decisive gap over his direct pursuers.
The final climb offered ideal terrain for creating gaps. The Cannois kept up with the pace set by the race leader, without yielding to accelerations. His effort management allowed him to distance Florian Lipowitz, third in the last Tour de France. The Bahrain Victorious rider then had to cope with an unexpected event in the last two kilometers. “I did the last two kilometers with a flat front tire. It was complicated, I felt like I couldn’t stand up without touching the rim. I tried to put as much weight on the back as possible, didn’t know how I was going to sprint, but in the end I managed to do it a bit seated. It’s never happened to me before, and fortunately it didn’t happen earlier on the climb,” he shared yesterday at the finish.
This technical issue could have ruined the day. However, the Frenchman maintained his pace and crossed the line ten seconds behind the winner. This performance allowed Lenny Martinez to take second place in the overall standings with an eight-second lead over Lipowitz before the final stage. A narrow margin, but sufficient to approach the last day with confidence “I find myself 2nd and I’m super happy. I want to defend this place, because 1st is normally impossible.”
The sixth stage was thus a turning point. The Maralpine resisted the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe strategy, which had tried to overturn the situation. “Red Bull had a good tactic and did well. We had Afonso (Eulalio) who did a great job for me to take (Felix) Gall out of contention.” The collective dynamics played an important role in achieving this result.
A second place consolidated in Barcelona
The final stage, plotted around Barcelona, did not alter the hierarchy. The terrain didn’t favor overturning positions. The Frenchman had anticipated it: “I don’t know how the race (Sunday) will be, in the past it didn’t move much in the general and the terrain suits me well…” The management of the finale confirmed this reading. The general classification remained stable.
The final podium reflects the week: Jonas Vingegaard in the lead, Lenny Martinez at 1’22’’, Florian Lipowitz at 1’30’’. Valentin Paret-Peintre at 1’43’’ and Remco Evenepoel at 2’13’’ complete the Top 5.
The performance of Lenny Martinez is part of the continuity of a consistent start to the season. A stage win and a Top 5 in Paris-Nice this season had already laid the foundations. Catalonia confirms a steady progression. The ability to respond to accelerations in the mountains, manage efforts, and overcome a technical incident at a key moment shows increasing maturity.
This second place is the best French finish in the race since Laurent Jalabert’s victory in 1995. An important step in the career of the young 22-year-old climber, who comes out of this week with certainty and a broad margin for progress. The rest of the season will offer other opportunities to measure this evolution, notably in the next Tour de France where he should have carte blanche to aim for stage wins or a good overall ranking.
