Bahrain Victorious opened its French weekend in the Ardèche–Drôme region with a podium finish, as Lenny Martinez secured third place at the Faun-Ardèche Classic (1.Pro).
The one-day race featured a demanding and technical 187.6 km course starting and finishing in Guilherand-Granges. A key climb at kilometre 142, as expected, proved decisive in shaping the race.
It was Paul Seixas (Decathlon–CMA CGM Team) who made the winning move. With around 40 kilometres to go, he attacked alongside Lenny Martinez, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Fabio Christen (UAE Team Emirates). Shortly after, Seixas launched a solo move and went on to take victory after more than 30 kilometres alone, finishing 1’48” ahead of the chasing trio. Christen claimed second place, Martinez finished third, and Jorgenson fourth.
Lenny Martinez commented:
“It was a nice race. I want to say thank you to the guys for today — they did a great job. Third place is a good result, especially considering that the final didn’t suit me perfectly. So I’m happy with this.”
Sports Director Roman Kreuziger added:
“It was good to see the guys, especially Zambanini and Miholjević, racing again with the right spirit. Borremans and Ermakov were fully committed to the team plan. Unfortunately, Omrzel had a puncture at the worst possible moment while fighting for position, which cost him a lot of energy.
Lenny delivered an amazing ride and I’m very happy with his performance. This result should give him confidence again. He was on an excellent day and hats off to him. He rode very impressively. I’m confident he can recover well and that we will fight again for a strong result here in France.”
