Purple jersey and three sprint victories: Magnier hails career breakthrough at the Giro d'Italia

Paul Magnier won the points classification in the Giro d’Italia. The Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step won three stages and was therefore the undisputed sprint king of this Giro, despite the young Magnier having had a difficult spring. Winning the ciclamino jersey is a breakthrough in his career.

Magnier and his Soudal Quick-Step team can look back on a very successful Giro d’Italia. The sprinter suffered plenty of bad luck in the spring, which meant he was not immediately among the top favourites for the sprint wins. But thanks to an outstanding lead-out train, the Frenchman impressed hugely and won three stages.

On the team’s website, the young sprinter looked back enthusiastically. “It has been three fantastic weeks, which I will never forget. Last year I won a lot of races, but now I wanted to show that I could do it against the best sprinters in the world. I am happy that I was able to do that in my second Grand Tour.”

The three stage wins and the points classification were owed in no small part to the excellent team around Magnier. Jasper Stuyven rode a superb Giro in service of his French teammate, while riders such as Dries Van Gestel, Fabio Van Den Bossche and Ayco Bastiaens also did a huge amount of work and positioned their sprinter perfectly.

“I want to thank the whole team for how strong they were and the fantastic work they did. Not only during the Giro, but also before it.” Magnier’s success in the Giro is an important step in the still young career of the Frenchman. At 22, he is also the second-youngest points classification winner in the Giro.

Magnier’s success came at a good time, as he had endured a difficult Classics campaign this spring. “I was already getting better and better towards the end of last year, but the start of this year was disappointing during the Classics. I found my confidence again at training camp, and that is now paying off. We can be very proud of what we have achieved,” Magnier concluded.