The fast Frenchman picked up his second consecutive win of the week.
Paul Magnier made it two victories from two stages in Okolo Slovenska, the multi-day race where our team is present for the ninth year in a row. Just like twenty-four hours ago, the 22-year-old made it look easy in the bunch sprint, where he could once again rely on the excellent Dries Van Gestel to guide him through the peloton.
The small town of Liptovsky Mikulas was where stage two finished, after almost 187 kilometers. The opening part was the most difficult one, due to a presence of a tough climb, but the bunch rode at a steady pace there as a six-man breakaway took shape on those testing uphill kilometers. Behind them, Soudal Quick-Step chased hard to reduce the gap and make sure it would once again come down to a mass gallop.
After the breakaway was caught with more than 15 kilometers to go, The Wolfpack continued to lead the peloton and keep Paul well positioned going under the flamme rouge. Once he opened up his sprint, the Frenchman was untouchable as he powered to a second consecutive win in Slovakia, one that helped him extend his gap in the general classification.
It’s always special to take a victory.
“It was a hard day to control, so I want to thank my teammates for doing a perfect job. On top of that, they brought me in a perfect position just before the last corner, which was very important in the final outcome. It was also rainy and a bit cold today, but thankfully we had the Castelli jackets to keep us warm and dry. I’m proud also to continue with the yellow jersey on my shoulders, it’s always beautiful to lead a stage race”, Paul explained after his tenth victory of the season.
