Bahrain Victorious concluded a busy racing weekend in France and Belgium with another podium finish and a strong top-five result.
It was back-to-back podiums for Lenny Martinez, who claimed third place at the Faun Drôme Classic (1.Pro), following his podium at the Faun-Ardèche Classic the previous day. The 22-year-old French climber once again proved himself among the strongest on home roads.
The demanding 189 km race in the Ardèche–Drôme region, starting and finishing in Étoile-sur-Rhône, was decided 14 kilometres from the finish when Romain Grégoire (Groupama–FDJ) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) launched the decisive move. Grégoire outsprinted his breakaway companion to take victory. A reduced chasing group including Martinez tried to close the gap but fell just short, finishing two seconds behind, with the Bahrain Victorious rider securing a brilliant third place.
Martinez said:
“Yes, I’m happy with today! The finale was quite tactical; unfortunately I missed the right move, but I managed to hold on for third place thanks to the team, who helped me. We’re heading home with two podium finishes. I’m happy, but I’m missing that feeling of winning. Hopefully it will come soon.”
Sports Director Roman Kreuziger reflected on the team’s performance:
“We knew it would be one of those races with early attackers, and Rainer Kepplinger showed excellent commitment, pulling for almost 120 kilometres. Then other teams took over, but we always had riders around Lenny to protect and position him in the key moments.
Lenny was in the right moves and showed excellent legs, which makes me very happy for what is coming next. However, other teams had multiple riders in the finale, so he couldn’t respond to every attack.
Edoardo Zambanini did a very strong pull in the final and we almost closed the gap. We could sense the podium, maybe even the fight for victory, but perhaps we missed one longer kick to bring it back completely.
Overall, we are very happy with the team, the spirit of the riders and the way they raced. This is the attitude we want to carry into the next races.”
In Belgium, Matevž Govekar sprinted to fourth place in a photo finish at Kuurne–Brussel–Kuurne, following a tactically strong race by Bahrain Victorious, who were active throughout the day and well positioned in the finale.
The 25-year-old Slovenian said:
“I’m happy with how the race unfolded. We followed our plan to race aggressively with Matej and to make sure our fast riders could survive the race. I was involved in the finale and I see the result in a positive light. It’s a bittersweet fourth place, but for me personally it’s a step forward compared to how I usually perform in these Belgian races. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.
We really raced as a team. Alec’s move benefited me quite a lot in the end, as not many sprint teams were well organised. Technically, we executed a very good race and we should be proud of that.”
Sports Director Michał Gołaś added:
“Of course, we’re happy to be so close to the podium, and especially with how we raced as a team. We were visible through Matej’s attacks and we had good numbers in the finale. Matevž did a great job; he was active all day, made a brilliant effort and showed excellent form in the sprint. Chapeau to the guys. This gives us confidence for a strong cobbled campaign.”
After the Opening Weekend, Bahrain Victorious will next line up with a young roster at the Ename Samyn Classic on Tuesday.
