Magnier makes it four in Slovakia: Fourth stage win secured, Kubis once again runner-up

Three stages, three times Paul Magnier. Each time, it was the Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step who, despite Visma | Lease a Bike's enormous attacking spirit, got his team on track, making a bunch sprint inevitable. He was by far the strongest each time: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets) had no choice but to settle for second place three times.

Saturday also seemed like another golden opportunity for Magnier: it was the flattest stage of the entire race. From Vráble, there were only 380 meters of elevation gain in 170 kilometers. That's why there wasn't much incentive to break away: in the end, five riders managed to get away. Among them were two Dutchmen: Tim Marsman (VolkerWessels) and Rick Ottema (Diftar), who were together at the front with Frenchman Oscar Nilsson-Julien (Groupama-FDJ) and Slovaks Martin Jurik (Pierre Baguette) and Matic Zumer (Adria Mobil).

They seemed to have no chance of winning on this course. However, the five riders worked well together, increasing their lead on the Slovakian plains to around 3 minutes. With 30 kilometers to go, they had just over a minute left. Jurik and Zumer then (quite literally) blew away. The wind was strong, which also brought with it the danger of echelons. However, splits in the peloton were quickly closed.

In the last 10 kilometers, Ottema, Marsman, and Nilsson-Julien were still ahead. Suddenly, they seemed to have a chance, but just after the finish line, they were caught. Soudal Quick-Step then skillfully set up the Magnier train, after which it was a repeat of the previous days: the Frenchman won, ahead of Kubis. Milan Menten (Lotto) finished third.