Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) demonstrated exceptional climbing skills, attacking decisively on the Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Sciez in the final 150 meters to win his first WorldTour race. The 21-year-old’s sprint left competitors trailing and he easily took the victory ahead of Clément Champoussin (AG2R Citroën Team) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team), who now leads the overall GC.
The stage began with a series of breakaway attempts. Early in the race, Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R), Clément Izquierdo (Cofidis), and Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) formed a breakaway group. However, Ben Swift (Ineos-Grenadiers) and Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ) eventually established a two-rider breakaway, maintaining a lead as they descended before the next Category 3 climb.
As the race progressed, the peloton, led by teams like Tudor Pro Cycling, kept the breakaway’s advantage under control. With 70 kilometers remaining, the gap had reduced to just under two minutes.
A pivotal moment occurred around 85 kilometers into the stage when Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) crashed on the Côte de Trèves, sustaining injuries to his forehead and wrist. Despite medical attention, Vingegaard struggled on the final climb, losing valuable time.
Martinex explained his strategy afterwards. “I knew I had to start with about 150 meters to go. I immediately saw that I could create a gap and that was an opportunity I just had to take. Yesterday I was a bit disappointed, even though I had good legs. I could have stayed with winner Joao Almeida and won, but today was the day for revenge.”
Jorgenson explained afterwards what happened to teammate Jonas Vingegaard. “He came to me and said that his hand was really painful, that he had a hard time braking and holding the steering wheel properly. He didn’t feel comfortable in the fight anymore when it got really stressful. He thought maybe his hand was broken. So he sat more in the back and did his best, which I’m proud of.”
“He told me to ride for myself, Joregenson further explained. “Victor [Campenaerts] stayed with him, everyone else with me. We tried to arrange that as best we could on the final climb. But to be clear: I really hope that Jonas can start again on Friday, when his head and hand have been checked properly. I hope he is okay. Health is more important than the race.”
HIGHLIGHTS
RESULTS
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
