Tour de France 2024: Lenny Martinez, the surprise chef at Groupama-FDJ, will be at the start

Lenny Martinez a déjà gagné à cinq reprises en 2024. MAXPPP – Anthony Rivat

Lenny Martinez, who was not supposed to compete in the Tour de France, was finally selected by Groupama-FDJ on Monday 24 June.

Lenny Martinez will compete in his first Tour de France from Saturday with the Groupama-FDJ team, which announced this surprise on Monday evening after months of assuring that he would not make his debut this year. The young French hopeful, who will turn 21 on 11 July, was supposed to save himself for the Vuelta a España at the end of August, but he was included in the selection of eight riders alongside David Gaudu, Romain Grégoire and Valentin Madouas.

"Lenny Martinez will be a real support for David in the mountains, we are always stronger together than alone on a route designed for climbers", explained Benoît Vaugrenard in the press release announcing the selection. Quentin Pacher, Clément Russo, the Luxembourger Kevin Geniets and the Swiss Stefan Küng complete a team otherwise without surprise.

Already five victories in 2024

Martinez, son of Miguel Olympic mountain bike champion in 2000, revealed himself in his first professional season last year, notably wearing the leader's jersey in the Vuelta. The pocket climber, announced for the Bahrain team next year, confirmed this season by winning five victories in a resolutely aggressive style, before experiencing a slump on the recent Tour de Suisse (32nd) .

He openly dreams of one day winning the Tour de France, just like Romain Grégoire, the team’s other great hope. In the meantime, he should occupy the role of lieutenant supporting Gaudu in the mountains and why not aim for a stage, the primary objective for the formation of Marc Madiot who has not won on the Tour since 2019.

Stage victories are targeted

"We want to get back on the Tour, insisted Vaugrenard. Our strategy is different from our traditional operating model with an entire team serving a leader. We are evolving and this year, we will give the runners a lot of freedom. David Gaudu is the central element of our team but the other seven riders are ready to play for stage victories."