No restrictions: Paul Magnier’s winning run showcases Soudal-QuickStep’s future

Paul Magnier just can’t stop winning. After dominating the sprints in Slovakia and Croatia in recent months, the Frenchman carried his impeccable form all the way to China, powering to victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Guangxi in Fangchenggang. 

It was his 16th win of the season and the 20th of his young career. Perhaps even more strikingly, it was his eleventh victory across a range of terrain in a little over two months, a sequence that began with his maiden WorldTour triumph at the Tour de Pologne in August.

Magnier is well versed by now in the podium and media protocol of a race winner, but a mix-up saw him leave the mixed zone before he had completed the full gamut of interviews. Mercifully, his adaptability extends to media duties, and Magnier sat down with the international press as he waited his turn at anti-doping.

“The last few months were amazing,” Magnier said. “The team really believed in me in the last part of the season, and I was really confident in my sprint. With victory after victory, I am really feeling stronger. The team also really did the job for me, 100%. I’m super proud and happy to make so many victories in the last few months.”

It's only a quirk of the calendar, of course, but Magnier’s recent streak began in the same week that Remco Evenepoel confirmed his decision to leave Soudal-QuickStep for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. 

That coincidence prompted many to herald Magnier as the future of his team, and the 21-year-old’s performances over the past two months have only helped to harden that consensus. The team will return to leaning on its old strengths in the sprints and the Classics in the years ahead, and that focus dovetails neatly with Magnier’s talents. The post-Evenepoel era already looks promising.

“Now the team are really invested in the Classics,” Magnier said. “Next year we will have a really strong team for the Classics. I think we are trying to build a team around me and Tim [Merlier]. The goal is to get as strong a train as possible for the sprint and a strong team for the classics. I think this is the mentality of the team for the next few years and I’m really looking forward.”

Magnier showcased his aptitude for the cobbles with second place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, and in recent weeks, he has won sprints of all sorts, from the treacherously technical finale in Cieszyn on the Tour de Pologne to Tuesday’s triumph on the wide, flat roads of Fangchenggang.

“I think I still need to progress a bit in everything but I’m really looking forward to the Classics next season,” said Magnier.

“Today was the first time I had the opportunity to sprint on straight and big roads like this, so I was a bit nervous in the last few k because I was scared about finding the space or things like this.” 

There was no sign of nerves here, mind, as Magnier avoided the crash in the finishing straight and then unleashed a powerful sprint to see off Max Kanter (XDS-Astana). He smilingly acknowledged that the process might have been different had the UCI gone ahead with its intention to test a proposed new rule on gear sizes. 

“I think with a 54 [tooth chainring], we could not really do a sprint, so I’m happy that we could sprint with the 56 here,” Magnier said. “We will see in the future if there is a restriction again but for me it doesn’t make much sense. 

The planned test was only postponed last week after SRAM successfully appealed to the Belgian Competition Authority against the mooted restriction, by which point Magnier and the other fast men had already been contemplating the prospect of sprinting on restricted gears.

“It came really late in the week, but we were not on the plane yet, so we had time to take the 56 with us in the suitcase,” Magnier smiled.

In truth, nothing was ever likely to restrict Magnier here. He carries the red jersey of race leader into stage 2 to Jingxi, it would be a surprise if he doesn’t add to his running tally before the week is out.