Magnier emulates Cavendish and Boonen with Slovakia hat-trick

Paul Magnier has continued his sparkling sequence of form in Slovakia by claiming his third win in as many days. The Frenchman delivered a pitch-perfect sprint to beat Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets) to the line on stage 3 of the Okolo Slovenska in Banská Bystrica.

The victory was Magnier’s ninth of the season, and on this form, he will expect to reach double figures before the campaign ends. The Soudal-QuickStep rider turned professional last year, and he collected his first WorldTour win at the Tour de Pologne last month.

“I’m happy I could win again and increase my lead in the general classification,” Magnier said afterwards. “It’s for the second time in my career, after last year’s Tour of Britain, that I take three victories in a race, and I’m proud of this achievement, which wouldn’t have been possible without this incredible team.”

Still only 21 years of age, Magnier looks set to be a key figure in the rebuilding of Soudal-QuickStep following the departure of Remco Evenepoel to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of this season.

Magnier’s rapid finish drew notice during his time at Trinity Racing in 2023 and he made an immediate impression in the professional ranks by winning his very first race, the Trofeo Ses Salines-Felanitx in Mallorca.

He also hinted at his aptitude for the cobbled Classics this year when he placed second at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and he will express to progress in 2026 as part of a reinforced squad that will include Jasper Stuyven and Dylan van Baarle.

In the here and now, Magnier carries a 15-second overall lead over Kubis into stage 4 to Sládkovičovo, but he has also written his own piece of history. He is the first rider in 33 years to win three successive stages in Slovakia, and he joins Tom Boonen, Fernando Gaviria and Mark Cavendish as the only QuickStep riders to win three consecutive stages in the same race.

Cavendish achieved the feat at the 2013 Tour of Qatar and again at the 2021 Tour of Turkey, while Boonen did it at the 2007 Tour of Qatar. Gaviria scored a hat-trick on the 2017 Tour of Guangxi and again at the 2018 Colombia Paz y Oro.

“It’s another amazing day for us,” Magnier said of his third straight win. “It was hard to control the race with that steep climb in the beginning, but the team did a perfect job and made sure of not letting too many guys at the front.”