A shaken Magnier acknowledges that a second Giro win is also a statement to the cycling world

Paul Magnier has well and truly arrived. The 22-year-old Frenchman has been winning prolifically for two years now, but the big question had always been whether he could do it on the biggest stage — at a Grand Tour. With two stage wins in three days at the Giro d'Italia, the Soudal Quick-Step prodigy has answered that question with his legs.

Stage 1 in Bulgaria had already been a landmark moment. He took the maglia rosa and the points jersey with it — though he lost the race lead on day two. Wearing the cyclamen points jersey, he sprinted confidently to victory in Sofia on stage 3 — even if it came down to the narrowest of margins against Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen.

"I dreamed of two stage wins in Bulgaria and made it a goal to win here again," Magnier said in his flash interview. He paid tribute to his teammates, who controlled all day and delivered him to the final straight in the perfect position. On the Bulgarian cobblestones it came down to a photo finish — and Magnier was the only one who dared to celebrate.

That proved justified — though the Frenchman himself had doubts in those first seconds after the line. His bike throw had been decisive, but: "I started celebrating, then I thought — oh, I'm not sure! If I'm honest, I wasn't certain I'd won, so I'm absolutely delighted. I'm beating the best sprinters in the world here, and that means I belong. In Italy I'll be hunting more stages."

The fascinating thing about Magnier is that when he joined Soudal Quick-Step in 2024, he still harboured dreams of becoming a climber. That idea was quickly reshaped: he became an exceptionally fast puncheur, and over the past year and a half has taken the step to become a world-class sprinter who can also climb. "I've always been explosive, but we've worked hard on my sprint. Now I'm part of the world's best."

In the mixed zone, Magnier confirmed that after two stage wins he will now actively target the cyclamen points jersey. On days one and three he skipped the intermediate sprints entirely, but that is likely to change. "The goal was to sprint as well as possible — but with two stage wins now, I can genuinely make the points jersey a target. Though I'll also be going for another stage."

As we said: Magnier has arrived. And he feels it too. "The Giro d'Italia is one of the biggest races in the world. My name in this sport will probably carry a bit more weight now. I'm proud of that."

"He's a decent sprinter," laughed lead-out Jasper Stuyven to Eurosport. According to Stuyven, Soudal Quick-Step didn't even need to deliver Magnier all the way to the line — the key was simply placing their man on the right wheel in the final kilometre. "We did that very smartly today."

The fact that Stuyven can continue at The Wolfpack along the same path he walked at Lidl-Trek as a high-end lead-out man gives him genuine satisfaction. "It's a path I started with Jonathan Milan over the last two years. It's nice to share that experience now — but it's not just down to me. We make a plan together as a team, and having a world-class sprinter helps."