Paul Martens

Martens started racing junior level events in 2000 showing no particular specialization finishing in the middle of the pack in the Niedersachsen Juniors and Cottbuser Juniors races. In 2001 he started to show some form finishing 3rd in Stage 1 of the Trofeo Karlsberg beating the chasing peloton by 2 seconds.{{cite news|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/jun01/jrkarlsberg011.shtml|title=Stage 1 - June 14: Schlossberg - Schlossberg, 97.2 km|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Knapp Communications|date=14 June 2001|accessdate=25 November 2023}} Later in the year he finished 10th overall at the Münsterland Tour Juniors, a race he would win the senior version of later in his career. In 2002 he rode the Jadranska Magistrala finishing 56th overall with his best result coming in the stage 3 sprint where he finished 16th. In late May 2002 he rode the Tour de Berlin where he finished 13th overall but was the first rider born in 1983 or later so he won the young rider classification.

He started 2003 with a win in the Rund um Sebnitz in Germany, and he also took a podium placing on Stage 1 of the Tour de Berlin. 2004 saw Martens finish second at the under-23 German National Time Trial Championships, and finished 13th in both the European and World under-23 time trials later in the season.{{cite web |title=European Championship, Road, ITT, U23 2004 |url=http://www.cyclingarchives.com/ritfiche.php?ritid=17013#ucira |website=www.cyclingarchives.com |access-date=26 October 2022 }}{{cite web |last1=Maloney |first1=Tim |title=Speedy Slovenian Brajkovic slaps down favourite Dekker |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/worlds04/?id=results/worlds042 |website=cyclingnews.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=27 September 2004}} Martens signed for amateur team KED Bianchi Team Berlin for the 2005 season, this gave him a calendar with more UCI races over the year. He started the year with a win at the Harzrundfahrt national event,{{cite web |last1=Stevenson |first1=John |last2=Clarke |first2=Les |title=Skil-Shimano starts two pro careers |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/skil-shimano-starts-two-pro-careers/ |website=cyclingnews.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=2 November 2005}} followed by 5th in the Stage 1 sprint of Circuit des Ardennes and a win at the Under-23 German National Time Trial Championships. For the later part of the 2005 season he was a stagiaire at UCI ProTeam {{UCI team code|TEL|2005}}.{{cite web |last1=Stevenson |first1=John |title=T-Mobile for Regio Tour |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/t-mobile-for-regio-tour/ |website=cyclingnews.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=9 August 2005}}

In November 2005 {{UCI team code|DSM men|2006}} announced they had signed Martens to their team on a two-year contract.

Martens' professional career began in Qatar with the International Grand Prix Doha where he finished in second-to-last position, nearly 4' 30" down on the winner. Having acted as a domestique in his next starts in stage races, Martens moved onto the Cobbled classics and Ardennes classics.{{cite web |title=More teams finalised for the hilly classics |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/more-teams-finalised-for-the-hilly-classics/ |website=cyclingnews.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=14 April 2006}} Martens contested, for the only time in his career, the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, finishing just the latter and at almost 20 minutes down in 99th position.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Jeff |last2=Kröner |first2=Hedwig |title=The mean machine takes first Roubaix win for CSC |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/apr06/roubaix06/?id=results |website=cyclingnews.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=9 April 2006}} He recorded two top-10 stage finishes at April's Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt, followed by a top 10 in Stage 4 of Tour de Picardie the following month. The Tour de Luxembourg brought Martens' first professional win, winning Stage 3 ahead of eventual overall winner Christian Vande Velde.{{cite web |title=2006 Tour de Luxembourg |url=https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=37&y=2006&e=02 |website=FirstCycling.com |access-date=26 October 2022 }} Martens' second professional win came at the Münsterland Giro where he took the early breakaway and held the peloton off by two seconds.{{cite web |last1=Westemeyer |first1=Susan |title=Martens wins Munsterland Giro |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2006/oct06/munsterland06 |website=CyclingNews.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |date=3 October 2006}}

Martens started 2007 at the Vuelta a Andalucía where he finished 6th in the bunch sprint of stage 2 and ended 21st overall after the 5 stages.{{cite web |title=Freire takes all |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/feb07/rutadelsol07/rutadelsol075 |website=CyclingNews.com |access-date=27 October 2022 |date=22 February 2007}}{{cite web |title=Freire takes sprint |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/feb07/rutadelsol07/rutadelsol072 |website=CyclingNews.com |access-date=27 October 2022 |date=19 February 2007}} He failed to finish at Omloop Het Volk and the Nokere Koerse, but finished third at the Grand Prix Rudy Dhaenens. The first top-10 result in a stage race came at the final edition of Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt where Martens finished 4th in Stage 3 and then 2nd in Stage 4 to finish 5th overall, 16 seconds down on the winner. At the Tour de Luxembourg in June, Martens finished in the top-10 in 3 stages and ultimately finished 4th overall, 25 seconds down on the winner.{{cite web |title=Rast sprints to stage and tour win |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/jun07/luxembourg07/luxembourg074 |website=CyclingNews.com |access-date=27 October 2022 |date=10 June 2007}} Stage 3 of the Ster Elektrotoer was won by Martens from a reduced bunch sprint after a hilly battle on the Cauberg,{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/martens-blasts-away-on-cauberg-to-lead-ster-elektrotoer-89907|title=Martens blasts away on Cauberg to lead Ster Elektrotoer|work=Cycling Weekly|publisher=IPC Media|date=21 June 2007|accessdate=25 November 2023}} which earned him the race leader's jersey; he lost the race lead to Sebastian Langeveld on the final day and finished second overall.{{cite news|first=Jean-François|last=Quénet|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ster-elektrotoer-to-kick-off/|title=Ster Elektrotoer to kick off|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=16 June 2008|accessdate=25 November 2023}} In August he raced the Rund um die Hainleite where he came third in another reduced bunch sprint.{{cite news|first=Susan|last=Westemeyer|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/aug07/hainleite07|title=Van Avermaet first Belgian to win the Hainleite|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=4 August 2007|accessdate=25 November 2023}} His last major result came at the Eneco Tour where he finished 9th overall.

In October 2007, Martens announced he would ride for UCI ProTeam {{UCI team code|TJV|2008}} from 2008 on an initial two-year contract, saying his three professional wins in two years at Skil–Shimano were impressive.{{cite web |title=Rabobank signs German youngster |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rabobank-signs-german-youngster/ |website=cyclingnews.com |access-date=27 October 2022 |date=24 October 2007}}

File:Paul Martens 2 - Sachsentour.JPG, where he finished in eighth overall]]

In his first season with the team, Martens took top-ten overall finishes at the Ster Elektrotoer (sixth), the Regio-Tour (sixth) and the Sachsen Tour (eighth),{{cite news|first=Susan|last=Westemeyer|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2008/jul08/sachsen08/sachsen085|title=Kroon captures final stage as Columbia sweeps the podium|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=27 July 2008|accessdate=25 November 2023}} and he finished in tenth at the Coppa Sabatini one-day race.{{cite news|first=Gregor|last=Brown|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2008/oct08/sabatini08|title=Khalilov continues hot streak with Sabatini|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=9 October 2008|accessdate=25 November 2023}} The following year, he finished on the podium at the GP Ouest-France – held as part of the UCI ProTour – where he finished third behind Simon Gerrans and Pierrick Fédrigo.{{cite news|first=Ben|last=Atkins|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gp-ouest-france-plouay-upt/results/|title=Gerrans victorious in GP Ouest France|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=23 August 2009|accessdate=25 November 2023}} He also recorded top-ten results at the Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop (fifth),{{cite news|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2009/may09/henninger09|title=Wegmann wins Eschborn-Frankfurt|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=1 May 2009|accessdate=25 November 2023}} the Giro del Piemonte (sixth), and a repeat of his eighth-place overall finish from the previous year, at the Sachsen Tour.{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/sachsen-tour-international-um-den-sparkassen-cup-2-1/stage-5/results/|title=Sinkewitz claims Sachsen Tour|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=27 July 2009|accessdate=25 November 2023}}

He recorded his first victory with {{UCI team code|RAB|2010}} in 2010, winning the Grand Prix de Wallonie,{{cite news|first=Jered|last=Gruber|url=http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/5898/Germanys-Paul-Martens-satisfied-with-excellent-Worlds-effort.aspx|title=Germany's Paul Martens satisfied with excellent Worlds effort|work=VeloNation|publisher=VeloNation LLC|date=4 October 2010|accessdate=25 November 2023}} ahead of Riccardo Riccò and Cadel Evans. He also recorded fourth-place finishes at Brabantse Pijl, Paris–Brussels and the Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli,{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/g-p-beghelli-1-1-1/results/|title=Cataldo sprints to G.P. Beghelli win|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=10 October 2010|accessdate=25 November 2023}} while also finishing in the top-ten placings at the Grote Prijs Jef Scherens (sixth), and the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (eighth). In 2011, Martens recorded tenth-place finishes in two of the Ardennes classics – at the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne.{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/amstel-gold-race-upt/results/|title=Gilbert repeats at Amstel Gold Race|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=17 April 2011|accessdate=25 November 2023}}{{cite news|first=Brecht|last=Decaluwé|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/la-fleche-wallonne-2011/results/|title=Gilbert takes audacious victory atop Mur de Huy|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=20 April 2011|accessdate=25 November 2023}} At the 2012 Vuelta a Burgos, Martens took a stage victory on the penultimate day of the race, winning on an uphill finish at Clunia.{{cite news|url=https://www.eurosport.com/cycling/martens-wins-burgos-stage_sto3375514/story.shtml|title=Martens wins Burgos stage|work=Eurosport|publisher=TF1 Group|date=5 August 2012|accessdate=25 November 2023}}

On his first race day of the 2013 season, Martens won the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve into Albufeira; he and Tiago Machado had gone clear of the field within the closing stages, and they managed to remain clear while teammate Theo Bos led home the peloton in third place, a few metres behind.{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/martens-outfoxes-the-sprinters-at-algarve/|title=Martens outfoxes the sprinters at Algarve|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=15 February 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023}} Later in the spring, he finished third in the Volta Limburg Classic in a sprint finish of a select group of riders.{{cite news|url=https://www.eurosport.com/cycling/selig-claims-volta-limburg_sto3689764/story.shtml|title=Selig claims Volta Limburg|work=Eurosport|publisher=TF1 Group|date=30 March 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023}} In June, Martens took his first overall stage race success,{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/blanco-take-wins-across-europe-in-tour-de-force/|title=Blanco take wins across Europe in tour de force|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=17 June 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023|quote=I've been close before, but this is the first time I've actually won a stage race.}} by winning the general classification at the Tour de Luxembourg; he was third overall heading into final stage,{{cite news|first=Daniel|last=Simms|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/skoda-tour-de-luxembourg-2013/stage-3/results/|title=Nizzolo strikes again at Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=15 June 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023|quote=The Sojasun rider finished tenth today and keeps a two second lead on IAM's Matthias Brändle and three seconds on Paul Martens of Blanco Procycling.}} but was able to overhaul Jonathan Hivert and Matthias Brändle on the hilly finishing circuit in Luxembourg City, and took the overall victory by four seconds ahead of Hivert.{{cite news|first=Daniel|last=Simms|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/skoda-tour-de-luxembourg-2013/stage-4/results/|title=Martens wins overall at Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=16 June 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023}} He later took top-ten overall finishes at the Tour de Wallonie (ninth) and the Arctic Race of Norway (fifth).{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-wallonie-2013/stage-5/results/|title=Van Avermaet wins stage 5 and overall at Tour de Wallonie|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=24 July 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023}}{{cite news|first=Jean-François|last=Quénet|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/arctic-race-of-norway-2013/stage-4/results/|title=Hushovd wins inaugural Arctic Race of Norway|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=11 August 2013|accessdate=25 November 2023}}

In June 2014, Martens won the final, hilly stage of the Tour of Belgium in a sprint finish in Oreye.{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/baloise-belgium-tour-2014/stage-5/results/|title=Martens wins final Belgium Tour stage|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=1 June 2014|accessdate=25 November 2023}} He then finished second to Mathieu van der Poel at the Ronde van Limburg, and fourth overall at the Ster ZLM Toer in his next two starts.{{cite news|url=https://www.wielerflits.be/nieuws/mathieu-van-der-poel-klopt-paul-martens-in-ronde-van-limburg-beeld/|title=Mathieu van der Poel klopt Paul Martens in Ronde van Limburg (+beeld)|language=Dutch|trans-title=Mathieu van der Poel beats Paul Martens in Tour of Limburg (+image)|work=WielerFlits.be|publisher=WielerFlits BV|date=15 June 2014|accessdate=25 November 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/ster-zlm-toer-gp-jan-van-heeswijk-2014/stage-4/results/|title=Greipel wins ZLM Toer finale|work=Cyclingnews.com|publisher=Future plc|date=22 June 2014|accessdate=25 November 2023}} Martens made his Tour de France début in 2015,{{cite web |url=http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/preliminary-start-list-2015-tour-de-france_375043 |title=2015 Tour de France start list |access-date=2 July 2015 |work=Velo News}} but he took no further individual wins over the next few years, with his best result coming at the 2017 Volta Limburg Classic, where he finished in fifth place, behind the lead group.{{cite news|url=https://www.teamjumbovisma.com/article/news/team-lottonljumbo-aggressive-but-without-reward-in-volta-limburg-classic/|title=Team LottoNL-Jumbo aggressive, but without reward in Volta Limburg Classic|work={{UCI team code|TJV|2017}}|publisher=Blanco Pro Cycling Team|date=1 April 2017|accessdate=25 November 2023}}

In February 2020, Martens announced that he would retire from cycling at the end of the season; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Martens intended to prolong his career until the middle of the 2021 season.{{cite news|first=Antonino|last=De Maio|url=https://cyclingpro.net/spaziociclismo/ciclomercato/jumbo-visma-paul-martens-si-ritirera-al-termine-della-stagione/|title=Jumbo – Visma, Paul Martens si ritirerà al termine della stagione|language=it|trans-title=Jumbo – Visma, Paul Martens will retire at the end of the season|work=SpazioCiclismo – CyclingPro.net|publisher=Antoine Plouvin SARL|date=24 February 2020|access-date=2 January 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/jumbo-visma-extend-contracts-with-eenkhoorn-hofstede-roosen-and-pfingsten/|title=Jumbo-Visma extend contracts with Eenkhoorn, Hofstede, Roosen and Pfingsten|website=Cyclingnews.com|date=4 September 2020|access-date=2 January 2021|quote=Martens was set to retire at the end of this season, but has decided to push the end of his racing career back a little more.}} He retired following the 2021 Giro d'Italia, where he finished 99th.

Sources:{{cite web |title=Paul Martens |url=https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=369 |website=FirstCycling.com |access-date=26 October 2022 }}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

;2001

: 1st {{cjersey|germany}} Madison (with Florian Piper), National Junior Track Championships

: 10th Overall Münsterland Tour Juniors

;2002

: 1st {{cjersey|white}} Young rider classification, Tour de Berlin

;2003

: 1st Rund um Sebnitz

;2004

: 2nd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships

;2005

: 1st {{cjersey|germany}} Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships

: 1st Harzrundfahrt

;2006

: 1st Münsterland Giro

: 1st Stage 2 Tour de Luxembourg

;2007

: 2nd Overall Ster Elektrotoer

::1st Stage 2

: 3rd Rund um die Hainleite

: 3rd Grand Prix Rudy Dhaenens

: 4th Overall Tour de Luxembourg

: 5th Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt

: 9th Overall Eneco Tour

;2008

: 6th Overall Ster Elektrotoer

: 6th Overall Regio-Tour

: 8th Overall Sachsen Tour

: 10th Coppa Sabatini

;2009

: 3rd GP Ouest-France

: 5th Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop

: 6th Giro del Piemonte

: 8th Overall Sachsen Tour

;2010

: 1st Grand Prix de Wallonie

: 4th Brabantse Pijl

: 4th Paris–Brussels

: 4th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli

: 6th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens

: 8th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

;2011

: 10th Amstel Gold Race

: 10th La Flèche Wallonne

;2012

: 1st Stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos

;2013

: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall Tour de Luxembourg

: 1st Stage 1 Volta ao Algarve

: 3rd Volta Limburg Classic

: 5th Overall Arctic Race of Norway

: 9th Overall Tour de Wallonie

;2014

: 1st Stage 5 Tour of Belgium

: 2nd Ronde van Limburg

: 4th Overall Ster ZLM Toer

;2015

: 10th Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes

;2017

: 5th Volta Limburg Classic

: 10th Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

;2019

: 1st Stage 1 (TTT) UAE Tour

{{div col end}}

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Category:1983 births

Category:Living people

Category:German male cyclists

Category:Sportspeople from Rostock

Category:Sportspeople from Bezirk Rostock

Category:Cyclists from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Category:21st-century German sportsmen