Paul Magnier will make his debut in a French stage race next week.
For the first time since the inception of our team, Soudal Quick-Step will be present at the start of the Étoile de Bessèges, the French race created in 1971 and held in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Mattia Cattaneo, Josef Cerny, Gil Gelders, former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert, Paul Magnier – who last year scored five wins as a neo-pro – U23 World Championships silver medalist Martin Svrcek and newcomer Dries Van Gestel will make up the squad for Étoile de Bessèges, our first outing of the season on European soil, which gets underway with a fast stage for the sprinters.
The next two days are hilly and come with the promise of bringing some changes in the general classification before the uphill finish of Mont Bouquet, averaging an excruciating 9.1% over just 4.6 kilometers. The 55th edition of the French race will end with the demanding individual time trial of stage five, concluding on the slopes of Alès, which could lead to important gaps between the contenders despite the short distance they’ll have to tackle.
“We hope to see Paul in the mix in the first days of the race, he has a nice chance of going for a good result. For the general classification, the last two stages will be important and we’ll see what we can do there with Mattia. It’s our first European race of the season, we have a solid team for it and we go there with huge motivation and with the desire of giving our best”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Klaas Lodewyck.
Photo credit: ©Cédric Depraetere
