Lenny Martinez finished third on Stage 5 of the Volta a Catalunya, reaching the podium after a demanding day in the high mountains.

The 153.1 kilometre stage from La Seu d’Urgell towards La Molina marked the first major GC test of the race, with over 4,000 metres of climbing and a long final ascent. Strong winds near the summit led organisers to adjust the finish location in the final kilometres.

After an early breakaway animated the stage, the race came back together on the approach to the final climb, where the pace steadily increased and the group of favourites was reduced.

On the decisive part of the ascent, Jonas Vingegaard (VISMA) made the difference with a solo move to take the stage victory ahead of Felix Gall (DECATHLON). Martinez followed just behind, riding his own pace in the final kilometres to secure third place.

With this result, Martinez moves up to third overall in the general classification and takes the lead of the young rider classification heading into the remaining stages.

Lenny Martinez:

“Yeah, it was a tough stage. I didn’t feel particularly great during the middle of the day, but my legs started to come back later on. We managed to get a bit of a gap at the start of the climb with Felix Gall and Florian Lipowitz. Once Vingegaard bridged across, I tried to hold his wheel, but the pace was just too high. In the end, third place is not so bad.”