2023-08-31 22:47:08
He is just twenty years old, is the youngest rider in the event and here he is already in the red jersey of the Tour of Spain. At the end of a formidable stage, Frenchman Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), in a final sprint to snatch second place behind American Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), offers himself the best day of his young career.
At the start of this 6th stage between La Vall d’Uixo and the Javalambre observatory, Remco Evenepoel, the leader and outgoing winner admitted that he expected a fight during this stage but that he did not know under what form. The 2022 world champion was right not to be certain because for a long time the scenario of the day seemed insane. Who could have predicted that the breakaway of the day would include 42 riders, that it would have a lead of more than seven minutes and above all that within it, we would find Lenny Martinez (Groupama – FDJ), Marc Soler (UAE) and Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), respectively 3rd, 9th and 12th overall.
For a long time, the gap did not drop below six minutes. To the point that we wondered if the bluffing game between the favorites (Evenepoel, Vingegaard, Roglic or Mas) was not going to turn into a joke. But 50 miles from the finish, the peloton finally got rolling to drastically reduce the gap.
This did not prevent Sepp Kuss from escaping from the leading group on the final ascent. The American saw himself doing a double blow, a stage and a red jersey. But all in control, and helped by his compatriot Romain Bardet (DSM), Lenny Martinez grabbed the necessary seconds which he lacked and which allow him to put on the leader’s tunic. Small consolation for Kuss and the Jumbo-Visma, Evenepoel completely cracked at the end. And even if Martinez is the big hero of the day, Roglic and Vingegaard are far from having lost their day.
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