At the Vuelta Espana we are seeing a great show and, among the protagonists, there is a son of art: who is the father? Definitely one that has had a fantastic history in MTB. We are talking about Miguel Martinez.
Miguel's son, lenny martinez, is one of the most interesting youngsters on the cycling scene but, surprisingly, he started out with cyclocross and not MTB, and then devoted himself to the road. Miguel Martinez, just for the record, won theOlympic gold in Athens and the title of World Champion in 2000. All in the same season. But these weren't his only successes: he was European Champion in 1999, won 10 World Cup stages and conquered the MTB World Cup results in 1997 and 2000.
To close the circle, even on uncle, Yannick Martinez, and his grandfather, Mariano martinez, they were runners. Grandfather Mariano even won two stages in the Tour de France, in addition to the climbers' classification Great Boucle in 1978. In short, the Martinez family has the DNA of great champions.
LENNY MARTINEZ RECORDS
At twenty years and fifty days old, Lenny Martinez becomes the youngest post-war leader of a major tour.
Miguel Martinez will participate in Appenninica MTB Stage Race
The Cross Country gold medalist at Sydney 2000 will be at the start of the Appenninica MTB Stage Race (4-9 September 2023). Along with him, there are many athletes who are taking part in the stage race on the Emilia-Romagna Apennines to experience a unique adventure with their load of stories and tales
The reasons why you decide to take on a challenge like that of the Appenninica MTB Stage Race are the most diverse. Some do it as a personal challenge, others for fun, still others to bear testimony. They are "The Apennines", those athletes who don't necessarily aim for results, so success is being able to cross the finish line, day after day.
From 4 to 9 September 2023, among the 150 participants at the start, many will face the challenge of the Emilia-Romagna Apennines trails with exactly this spirit. Leading this group of athletes will be a true mountain bike legend: Miguel Martinez. The Frenchman, already a gold medalist at the Sydney 2000 Olympics in Cross Country, over the years has also won the Cape Epic in the Master category together with Mirko Pirazzoli.
