Magnier is a machine: and the data from his stage 6 sprint proves it

For anyone at this Giro d'Italia who still had any doubts: Paul Magnier is very much in shape. The purple jersey holder, riding for Soudal Quick-Step, was caught up in the crashes in the final corner in Naples on Thursday — but still managed to finish third.

Magnier was riding in the slipstream of Stuyven and Groenewegen, but couldn't fully hold the corner himself. "It started really well — the team delivered another fantastic performance," the Frenchman began in his flash interview.

"I was in third or fourth position as we went into the bend, 300 metres from the finish: exactly where we wanted to be. Unfortunately there was a crash just in front of me. I tried to avoid it as best I could and tried to ride over Dylan" — Groenewegen — "in some way. I hope he's okay, because a crash on cobblestones always hurts a lot."

There was little time for Magnier to dwell on any of that — literally or figuratively. "After that I tried to get going again and give absolutely everything. I think I even had the fastest final 300 metres of anyone in the group — but unfortunately it wasn't enough for the win."

Those words were subsequently backed up by data from Velon. According to the organisation, Magnier sprinted for 25 seconds at an average speed of 42.3 km/h and an average power output of 1,000 watts — all from a near-standstill after the crash. By comparison, winner Ballerini and second-placed Stuyven — who stayed upright throughout — took 29 seconds at 38 and 39 km/h respectively, averaging 890 and 930 watts.

"To be honest it felt like it would be hard to come back, but I'm wearing the jersey — so the most important thing was to pick up as many points as possible. In the end I managed to do that," Magnier summarised. He did himself a significant favour in the points classification: he now leads second-placed Jonathan Milan by 66 points, after Milan — along with Tobias Lund Andresen and others — was also brought down in the crash.