Frenchman celebrates his fourth win since the beginning of the year.
Paul Magnier delivered Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team’s sixth victory of the season after a perfect sprint in Saint-Vincent, where the 105km second stage of the GiroNextGen concluded Monday afternoon. Despite the hilly route featuring several climbs, including one coming in the last ten kilometers, and the many attacks that split the peloton before everything came back together, Paul made it over all these hurdles with the help with his excellent team and then gave absolutely no chance to the others in the bunch gallop, winning comfortably.
It was the fourth success of the season for the 20-year-old Frenchman, who came here having won recently a stage at the Course de la Paix, but also two other races in the jersey of Soudal Quick-Step – Trofeo Ses Salines-Felanitx and stage 3 of the Tour of Oman.
“Attacks came thick and fast in the beginning, and at one point, I managed to join the breakaway and save some energy there, but we got caught and from then on, we rode full gas. Luckily, I managed to pass the last climb in a good position and then benefited from a great lead-out of Andrea Raccagni, who put in a huge effort at the front from 500 to 100 meters to go.”
“After entering the last corner in seventh position, I launched my sprint coming off my teammate’s wheel and gave everything out there, and I am glad I won. I wanted to do the GiroNextGen and I’m proud I could take this nice victory for the team. It was our goal from the start of the day. The fact that I have the beautiful maglia rosa now is a bonus and I can’t wait to wear it on Tuesday”, said Paul, who carries a seven-second lead on the next rider in the general classification, teammate Andrea Raccagni.
Photo credit: ©GiroNextGen
