Bahrain Victorious stands tall

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Lenny Martinez produced a stunning solo ride to win the final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Sunday, marking his third WorldTour stage victory of the season and salvaging what had been a frustrating week for the French climber.

The stage, finishing atop Plateau du Mont-Cenis, held sentimental value for the 20-yearold Groupama-FDJ rider, who trained there with his father as a teenager. Having fallen out of General Classification (GC) contention after a tough Queen Stage, Martinez bounced back in style.

Making the Break Count

The final day’s early breakaway gained a three-minute advantage on the peloton, and with 8km to go, only Enric Mas of Movistar remained ahead. Martinez launched his decisive move at that point, dropping Mas and attacking solo up the Col du Mont-Cenis — a 9.6km climb with a punishing average gradient of 6.9%.

Despite the looming threat of GC heavyweights Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard behind, Martinez held a steady pace, crested the climb with over 40 seconds to spare, and maintained his lead to take a memorable stage win.

Redemption for Martinez

An emotional Lenny Martinez at the finish line said, “Earlier, I was really bad, and I hadn’t been feeling great the days before either. So I wasn’t expecting much. But then I finally felt good at the start, so I decided to go for it. At one point, I thought Van der Poel was going to win, then I thought I was going to get caught by the Pogacar-Vingegaard duo a little later. It would have been a real shame, but it worked out! I was going all out until the last kilometre and it was only at the end that I really believed it was possible to win. I’m very happy with my performance in the Dauphiné. I came here for the overall classification: it didn’t work out, but I’ve salvaged the week. The team told me never to give up, so that’s why I tried again. Now we can be proud of what we’ve done here with this victory. I hope to win in the Tour too, we’ll see.”

Bahrain Victorious Impresses

While Martinez took the headlines for the stage, Bahrain Victorious continued to make an impression throughout the race. Their aggressive tactics and strong team performances reinforced their presence in the peloton, setting the stage for a promising summer campaign.

Pogacar Seals the Title

Overall honours went to UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar, who secured his maiden Dauphiné crown with another dominant GC ride, holding off Vingegaard and the rest of the elite field across the week.

With the Tour de France fast approaching, the Critérium once again proved its value as a proving ground — and for Martinez and Bahrain Victorious alike, it offered a timely reminder of what’s possible when the strategy is right and