Only one rider dared to follow Vingegaard on Wednesday afternoon: "Made my heart hurt a little"

On Wednesday afternoon, during the fourth stage of Paris-Nice, Jonas Vingegaard decided to attack hard on the final climb. The Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike had only one rider who immediately dared to follow him: Lenny Martinez. Although the young Frenchman from Bahrain Victorious ultimately couldn't hold onto Vingegaard’s wheel, he was more than satisfied with his performance.

"It feels great to be able to stay with the big favorites," a proud Martinez told the press after the race. After following Vingegaard, he finished fourth on the stage, just behind winner João Almeida, Vingegaard, and Mattias Skjelmose. "That really means a lot to me. At the end, I tried to get a result, but it was very explosive. All in all, I’m happy with this day."

Martinez saved the day for his team on Wednesday, as Bahrain Victorious co-leader Santiago Buitrago crashed out in a nasty fall. "Santiago told me he’s out of the race. That hurt my heart a little because he’s our leader," Martinez admitted, sounding slightly emotional. When asked if he was now the team’s new leader, Martinez grinned. "Yes," he laughed. "We’re going to do our best in this Paris-Nice."

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"Be careful in the flat stages" – Martinez on the rest of Paris-Nice

The stage had an unusual turn of events, as the race was temporarily neutralized due to extreme cold. This made it a tough day for Lenny Martinez as well. "I didn’t feel great, especially when the hail started. I was absolutely freezing. I had to wait for the team car to change clothes—otherwise, I don’t think I would have been able to finish the stage. It was really, really cold."

Still, the final climb to Le Loge des Gardes was eventually raced at full gas. "That made it even more difficult, but by the last climb, I managed to warm myself up," Martinez reflected, satisfied with his performance. Looking ahead to the upcoming stages, he warned about potential dangers. "We’ll have to be careful not to get caught out in the flat stages—that’s often the trickiest part. After that, I’ll just give it my all and try to achieve the best possible GC result for the team."

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