A perfect day for Soudal Quick-Step’s Frenchman in Slovakia.
Paul Magnier took his fifth victory at this race following a great lead-out and another dominant sprint. After claiming four stage wins at the previous edition, the 22-year-old got this 70th edition underway in the best possible way, by putting several bike lengths into his opponents on the finishing straight in Kosice, one of the country’s most important cities.
The opening day of the race wasn’t a straightforward one, as it took in seven climbs and 2500 meters of elevation, which didn’t make things easy to control, especially as some teams tried to put pressure on the fast men each time the road went up in the last part of the stage.
Soudal Quick-Step, the most successful team here this century, had a plan and stuck to it, protecting Paul Magnier throughout the stage and working tirelessly behind the escapees. With twelve kilometers to go, after the breakaway got caught, two riders went clear, but our squad made sure of reeling them in before the flamme rouge. Inside the closing kilometer, the excellent Dries Van Gestel led out Magnier, who launched his sprint with 200 meters to go and gave no chance to the others on his way to win number nine this season.
Today it was a great team performance.
“We controlled the stage and remained together even when other teams tried to make things hard in the finale. The pace was high there, but I felt good on the climbs. I knew this finish and was aware that I had to be in a good position for the closing meters. Dries gave me a perfect lead-out and I started my sprint from the fourth wheel. I’m happy I could bring it home and I am delighted to have the first yellow jersey of the race”, said Paul, who also leads the points and youth classification.
Photo credit: ©Okolo Slovenska
