There is a young man who is studying to become a champion, nurtured, followed, cherished. And guided toward a great future. The young man in question is called Paul Magnier, he is 22 years old, he goes fast but doesn't want to be just a sprinter. And he studies in the academy of classics - Soudal Quick Step - to become who knows, the new Tom Boonen. Meanwhile in Rome he concluded his first major Giro - in 2025, on his debut in the pink race, he had stopped at the sixteenth stage - with three stage victories and the white jersey, the second youngest rider in history, after Beppe Saronni, to win it. Not to mention that in Bulgaria he won the first sprint and gave himself the gift of wearing the pink jersey for a day as well.

«I am incredibly happy to have arrived in Rome with the prestigious white jersey on my shoulders. It was three fantastic weeks, something I will never forget. Last year I won many races, but now I wanted to prove that I could compete against some of the best sprinters in the world, and I am very happy to have succeeded in my second Grand Tour».

Yes, because in 2025 Magnier won 19 races, after the five successes achieved on his professional debut in 2024, but only six of these in WorldTour races: one stage in Poland and five at the Tour of Guangxi. To grow, a leap in quality was needed, in the race and in the opponents: it duly arrived at the Giro.
«I want to thank the entire team for their strength and for the fantastic work done, not only during the Giro, but also before. This has been a big step forward in my career and the result achieved gives me the confidence to be competitive in the most important races in the world».

THE BEGINNINGS. Mom Sabine and dad Laurent tell that little Paul «was hyperactive, it seemed he never wanted to sleep» and that sport was of great help to him in controlling and channeling his energy in the best way: handball, tennis, skiing, mountain biking, finally road cycling. The keen eye of Patrick Lefevere and his collaborators brought him early into the orbit of Soudal-Quick Step: a first year as an Under with Trinity Racing and then his professional debut with a contract progressively extended until 2029 for a rider destined to become a pillar of the Belgian team.

MENTORS. Around Paul there are mentors of great quality and we had new proof of this at the 109th Giro d'Italia. The first is Davide Bramati, a refined technician and exceptional motivator, the man capable of giving cohesion on the road to a team that came from the most disappointing spring in its history. It was the Milan-based technician who shaped Magnier's train, who made him understand that he could go beyond “simple sprints», who explained to him that - for example - the road to success and that of the future also passed through the Muro di Cà del Poggio which some judged indigestible for the Frenchman. 

The other mentor of fundamental importance is Jasper Stuyven, an acquisition that proved crucial because few in the peloton know how to read the race - and especially the finishes - like he does. It was an important investment, the signing of the Belgian also snatched from Lidl Trek by that Milan who was Magnier's main opponent in the pink sprints, because Stuyven gave his young teammate a new awareness. This is how the victories in Burgas, Sofia and Pieve di Soligo came about, the fruit of positioning, cunning and power. 

And it matters little that in Rome Magnier mistimed his effort, finishing far from the fight for victory. First Frenchman ever to achieve two out of three at the start of the Giro, as we said Paul learns quickly: «The best way to win a sprint is to manage to get a good start. You always have to make a small effort to really be at the front 200 meters from the finish line, but with a strong team like the one I have here, I just have to stay on the wheel of my teammates. Finally, you need to have the legs at the decisive moment and manage to find a gap».

In the team everyone knows him for his inexhaustible drive: «A tireless worker. He never stops. Not even crashes scare him. He gets up and goes again», they say. He has already experienced difficult moments - at the Tour of Britain in September 2024 he was involved in a very bad crash: concussion, 36 stitches between ankle, knee and hip - and someone back home made fun of him because once, it happened at the Gp Fourmies, he didn't recognize Bernard Hinault.

But it matters little: for Paul Magnier the most important story is still to be written. The next step, leaving Rome with the white jersey in his suitcase, is called “the hunt for the classics”. 

from tuttoBICI of June