On the Volta a Catalunya, Lenny Martinez keeps gaining experience. After his first summit finish battle on stage 2, the climber from Groupama-FDJ went for it again on Wednesday towards La Molina. After a hard race, through three big climbs, the young man limited his losses at the finish despite a significant setback along the way. For the second consecutive day, he entered the top-20 (19th), fifty-six seconds behind the winner Remco Evenepoel. He now sits fifteenth overall.
The traditional summit finishes follow one another on the Volta a Catalunya. After Vallter 2000 on Tuesday, the ascent of La Molina was on the menu in stage 3. The course also featured two other major climbs, including the long Coll de la Creueta (18.7 km at 4.9%). Several riders, and not the least, tried to seize the opportunity of this hilly day to fight for victory through the breakaway. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla), Niklas EG (Uno-X), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural) and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) then took the lead quite early while the Groupama-FDJ team had only one focus on Wednesday. “Lenny was our main man, and we knew the day’s menu well”, explained Jussi Veikkanen. “Everyone had a specific mission to protect Lenny and stay by his side as long as possible. They did it well in the first part of the race. On the other hand, he was isolated quite early on in the second part. Those who were supposed to support him at that point are also those who crashed yesterday and the day before yesterday. They had a tough day and couldn’t do the job that was expected. Also, Clément did not fully recover from his crash in Denain and had to abandon”.
“I had to make a big effort”, Lenny Martinez
When the pace increased at the foot of the long climb of the Coll de la Creueta, more than fifty kilometres from the finish, the young climber from Groupama-FDJ still tried to keep his position in the first part of the pack. He did it perfectly, but with eight kilometres from the top, he suffered a small crash, just like the day before. “A rider bumped into me, I fell and broke my shoe,” explained Lenny. “I had to change it and then get back to the main group, and I had to make a big effort”. “We weren’t very far away, so we were able to help him out, but changing a shoe while riding is not easy, even less on such a climb,” added Jussi. “Unfortunately, he no longer had any teammates with him, and this also happened when Soudal-Quick Step accelerated, and groups got dropped. He had to use quite a bit of energy to come back. He managed to do it because he’s going strong, but it cost him in the end”. Three kilometres of intense chasing proved necessary for the French climber to join the back of the peloton. He then stayed in the wheels up to the summit, then in the downhill, and finally tackled the final climb of La Molina (12 km at 4.4%) within a bunch of around fifty men. “I was in a good position at the bottom of the climb, but it was really hard, and when Evenepoel attacked, I cracked”, he said. “It was every man for himself. I found myself with some guys, who I tried to work with to join the groups in front, but the cooperation wasn’t so good”.
“Lenny showed again that his place is among the best climbers”, Jussi Veikkanen
Distanced from the GC group just four kilometres from the top, before a short descent and a more rolling final, Lenny Martinez eventually lost fifty-six seconds to winner Remco Evenepoel, but still took a decent 19th place on the line. “Without his unfortunate episode, I think he could have finished in the first chasing group” claimed Jussi Veikkanen. “He made additional effort and paid for them. We are disappointed that it happened, but the positive thing is that it showed again that his place is among the best climbers. The fifteen guys in front of him are not unknown riders. We need to take the day’s circumstances into account: we weren’t lucky”. “It was a really hard stage”, concluded Lenny. “I would have liked to do better, but that’s also part of the learning process… This is my first race as the team leader, and that doesn’t scare me. On the contrary, it motivates me. I thank the team for this opportunity, and I will try to bring them the best possible result at the end of the week”. After stage three, he also remained in the top-15 overall in his first WorldTour event.
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