Fleche Wallonne: Team Bahrain Victorious bets on Lenny Martinez

Team Bahrain Victorious comes to the 90th edition of the Fleche Wallonne with Lenny Martinez as its lead man, aiming for a podium result on the famous Mur de Huy. Martinez arrives at the Ardennes classic with the goal of improving on his fourth-place finish from last year, a race in which he emerged among the leading contenders in one of cycling’s most explosive finishes. The young Frenchman is in excellent form, fresh from a great performance at the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished second overall while also taking the jersey of best young rider. His qualities on the sprints make him particularly well suited to this type of race.

At his side will be a solid and experienced lineup composed of Matej Mohorič, Pello Bilbao, Vlad Van Mechelen, Fran Miholjević, Edoardo Zambanini and Pau Miquel. The race, 200 km long and with 2,974 meters of elevation gain, is the second of the hilly Ardennes classics and will once again test the peloton on the climbs of Wallonia. Start in Herstal and finish on the famous Mur de Huy, a short but very tough climb: 1.4 km with an average gradient of 9.1 percent. The wall is tackled twice before the final climb, where usually everything is decided with an uphill sprint.

: “We return to the Walloon Arrow, a race in which we have historically done well, winning with Dylan Teuns in 2022. Santiago Buitrago also did well here, as did Lenny last year. With this team we are well balanced and can have great ambitions. Lenny comes in good condition, supported by Pello, who showed very good form at Amstel but was unlucky and did not get the result he deserved. He will be completely at the service of the team,” Roman Kreuziger said.

“The other riders have well-defined roles and, having faced this race before, we bring good experience with us. It is always very difficult to win the Walloon Arrow, but we will fight with Lenny aiming for the podium. It might be a more open race than last year with Tadej Pogačar, but we still expect everything to be decided on the last climb of the Mur,” added the team’s sport director.