Visma-Lease a Bike: Signing Lenny Martinez 'could happen'

Two months ago it looked nailed on that Lenny Martinez would be on his way to Bahrain-Victorious with some astonishing salary figures mentioned in the cycling press as the team looked to pick up one of the most sought-after riders on the transfer market.

However, the complexion has changed in the last few days with Ineos Grenadiers, Visma-Lease a Bike and a potential stay at Groupama-FDJ back on the cards according to the rider’s father and former ex-pro, Miguel Martinez.

Interest from Ineos Grenadiers appears to be real but GCN understands that several teams have been scared off by the price linked to the highly talented 20-year-old. The British team already have Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez locked in the next few years, while Geraint Thomas has one more year left on his contract and there’s a reasonable question around whether Martinez would be an upgrade on Rodriguez, who at 23, won a stage and finished fifth in his maiden Tour de France in 2023.

The same debate over fit could be levelled at Visma-Lease a Bike who are stacked with GC riders with Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss and Uijtdebroeks on the books of the Dutch team. However, sports director Merijn Zeeman has confirmed that the team have talked to the rider about a potential move as they too look to build their future squad.

“We had some good talks, but not concrete yet. It could happen,” Zeeman told GCN via text late on Wednesday evening.

In terms of the best landing spot, Bahrain-Victorious would feel like the best solution in terms of freedom to develop and a clear pathway to leadership. The team have extended with Antonio Tiberi, having announced new terms for the Italian rider on the eve of the Giro d’Italia but the likes of Damiano Caruso, Pello Bilbao and Jack Haig are all 30 or above. Wout Poels remains out of contract for 2025 but the team confirmed via text that negotiations with the veteran were ongoing.

Earlier this year Bahrain-Victorious boss Milan Eržen told GCN that the team were targeting Martinez, who has already won four times this season.

“I’ve been following Lenny for three or four years now and for sure he will be a future French star but I can’t confirm anything. We’ve talked with his agent, but not with him, but no signature. He is at the top of our list though. There are so many other richer teams in front of us though, and what we can offer. We can’t compete with the crazy money that’s being offered now,” Eržen told GCN.

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“We’re looking for riders for the Grand Tours but we have contracts for next year with a number of our riders like Bilbao, Haig, Tiberi and Caruso. We’re looking for young guys who can make that jump into that group and learn a lot from them. That’s the main aim now. We have a group of sprinters for the future, and we have some new youngsters for the sprints."

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