Four important victories and placings in this first part of the season. Return behind. An excellent Romandie. Significant growth. Let's face it: we're a little surprised not to see lenny martinez al Tour of Italy. Also because it has had a good calendar so far, with Catalunya and Romandie which could have been a good approach to the Giro d'Italia.
A polka-dotted promise
We also asked ourselves a few questions about the technical management of the French elf. Martinez now seems ready to fight at the highest levels. And this is a topic that we have put on the table and analyzed with Philippe Mauduit, head of the racing sector and sporting director of the Groupama-FDJ.
There has been a lot of talk about Lenny in France these days, also in terms of the transfer market. It seems he has already signed with the Bahrain-Victorious, But those close to him, starting with his father Miguel, categorically deny it: "The first choice is to extend with Groupama."
But there was also talk of Lenny's grandfather, Mariano. The former 70s rider is losing his sight and asked his grandson to win the polka-dot jersey, which he won in 1978. “Get her before I can’t see you wearing it anymore.” According to dad Miguel, Lenny has this promise fixed in his head. Rather, this mission.
Philippe, well, Lenny Martinez is going strong, why didn't you bring him to the Giro?
Why he's still young, only 20 years old. And why can't someone like him be carried like this?
But have you ever thought about it? After all, he already has a Vuelta in the bag, and at the Giro you have neither a GC man nor a sprinter.
Yes, we thought about it, but actually We did have a sprinter. And it was Paul Penhoet. This winter we had planned all the guys' races. Before the Giro, Penhoet tore his knee ligaments. So we asked ourselves a question: do we revolutionize the team or replace just one man? Changing so many plans would have been too complicated, and perhaps not even fair for those who already had a set schedule and had started in Australia. And then it would have been difficult to fit Lenny into that differently conceived group.
Why?
Because you have to support a rider like that. You need to put at least a couple of climbers near him and someone to help him on the flat. We then decided not to touch anything and to send Laurence Pithie, who didn't yet have a summer program, came out of the North well and for him it could have been a great experience with a good chance of a stage victory.
So how will you manage Martinez from now on (he'll be back in the race at the end of June and then in July he'll do the Tour of Switzerland)?
There is again the Vuelta hypothesis for him and not the Tour de France. In this case not only because he is young, but he is the young man who carries on his shoulders the hope of all France. The hope of the next Tour winner. It would mean putting him in danger, and for now, we can avoid that. The Vuelta is better, Spain is better.
In short, Lenny will be more relaxed there…
Exactly, and in Spain we'd have a team with a few more climbers. We have to be realistic: we're a team that fluctuates between seventh and twelfth in the WorldTour rankings, and we don't have the men who can rank in all three Grand Tours. To do that, we need more riders, and salaries are so high that just being able to do two Grand Tours with the idea of the general classification is a lot. And then, I repeat, the idea of coming to the Giro with the sprinter was well thought out. Today, finding a three-week race that gives you the opportunity for 7-9 sprint finishes is rare. So it was right for that reason too.
Philippe, was Martinez ready for the head-to-head, or did he come with the goal of improving?
It's one and the same, you can't separate the two things.
But knowing him, would he have been happy? Let's talk about the "kid's" wishes and dreams for the Giro...
Yes, yes, for sure. From that perspective, he would have been happy and ready to fight. But as I was saying, changing the plans would have been complicated. Also because, in addition to Penhoet, we've had six or seven injuries in this first part of the season. And they were serious injuries, which saw the players sidelined for months and some still haven't returned.
We're talking about growth: has he improved in these two seasons with you? Do you mean, personality-wise, too?
Physically, his physical attributes are growing, not exceptionally, but steadily, and that's very good. Where I see him growing rapidly is mentally. Lenny isn't afraid of anything. It seems like the pressure is slipping off him. He learned a lot from last year's Vuelta. He has impressive mental strength. He always goes out to win.
So now he's someone who speaks up in meetings? Does he have his say in meetings?
He doesn't talk much, to be honest, but he's young and learning to be a leader. When you meet with the riders on the bus, the rider's voice is important too—the captain's in this case—and not just the sporting director's. I pointed this out to him, and he understood. It's incredible. You tell him something once and you don't need to repeat it again... as we have to do with many kids today.
