His Tour of Britain was idyllic… until a terrible fall. Paul Magnier (20 years old) is barely piecing together the puzzle of this incident, Friday in our premises, three weeks after having experienced it. “I just learned from an FDJ runner (sic) that I turned around and hit the wheel of a rider in front. I would have fallen into the aisle…“, he tells us at the start of an interview carried out on the sidelines of the World Championships in Zurich, which he missed in the U23 category due to injury.
“I had 36 stitches between my ankle, knee and hip. I scratched my shoulder and lost my fingernails“, details the French rider from Soudal Quick-Step, who spent eight days in hospital. Eight is also his number of successes in 2024, including five in the professional peloton and three during the British event. This It is above all his qualities as a sprinter which already allow Magnier to shine. But he does not wish to be reduced to this register.
Have you recovered from your severe fall during the Tour of Britain?
Paul Magnier : It’s getting better, I’m starting to be able to walk normally again. I still have some mobility issues with my knee, but my head is better. It will come back little by little. It’s especially the brain that will take time. I will have to take some rest but with the winter period, I will still have time to prepare.
Will this preparation be focused on the sprint?
P.M. : I love training for sprints, working on my explosiveness. But I also like to train at altitude, doing a lot of elevation change, if only to be comfortable in the bumps, not to suffer as soon as there is an embankment. I’m not going to focus only on the sprint, I’m going to try to discover a little bit of all the areas.
Sprinter, isn’t that a profession in its own right?
P.M. : A sprint is a lot of adrenaline and stress. I think it’s hard to remain one of the best sprinters in the world your whole career. There is the fear of falling, a lot of things that come into play… For the moment, I feel good, I have never been too afraid during a sprint, but I know that it can happen quickly. I have a good team that often manages to put me at the forefront, which allows me to struggle a little less.
And three for Magnier!
The Quick-Step structure included Tom Boonen in its ranks, as a sprinter-classicman. But since then, it’s more on one side the sprinters (Bennett, Viviani, Kittel, Cavendish), on the other the big names of the big one-day races (Gilbert, Terpstra, Alaphilippe, Evenepoel). Don’t you fear being, of course, perfectly taken away… but also locked in a box?
P.M. : It doesn’t scare me too much at the moment. We have Tim Merlier on the team, who is the best sprinter in the world this year in my opinion. He mainly focuses on the big races intended for sprinters, but he also likes to run Paris-Roubaix (best result: 23rd, editor’s note) and the Tour of Flanders (43rd). He does a bit of both: sprints and classics. I would like to do the same.
Could Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders be on your program in 2025?
P.M. : I have already discussed my program with the team. I don’t think I will do major competitions like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix next year, rather races that are similar but at a slightly lower level, where I can race to win. But in the future, I want to participate in these great classics and win them.
You described Tim Merlier as “best sprinter in the world“But your teammate Luke Lamperti said that you were “almost (at his) level“during preseason training last year. You would have even beaten him on a sign…
P.M. : It’s thanks to this that I impressed a lot of people in the team (smile). A sprint workout had gone well for me. I had managed to beat him. It was December or January, so not when he was at his strongest. But it sure gave me confidence and I think it allowed me to unlock my counter quickly, from my first race, in Spain (as part of the Mallorca Challenge, editor’s note).
Magnier, young first in the Ses Salines-Felanitx Trophy
Having great riders like Alaphilippe and Evenepoel working for me… it was a dream
Which of your eight victories this season gave you the most emotion?
P.M. : The three successes at the Tour of Great Britain, with Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel, in particular, in the team. There was a great atmosphere. Remco participated in the exceptional work done by the entire team, ahead of the sprint. Then Julian was there to place me in the last kilometer. Seeing him take risks for me, in the last kilometers of the Tour of Britain, it warmed my heart. Especially since he was preparing for the world championships, he must not fall. Having great runners like that working for me… it was a dream.
P.M. : I would like to become a runner like Mathieu van der Poel. He is very fast, he has won many classics, world championship titles… and he has class.
It’s multidisciplinary, too, and you like mountain biking…
P.M. : Yes, I started cycling with mountain biking. It’s a discipline that I enjoy and that I still practice in training. I live near Grenoble, there are paths nearby. Having two programs (mountain bike and road in this case, editor’s note) is complicated… but maybe I will start competing again seriously in the future.
The funniest thing? The fastest? The most stylish? Alaphilippe and Evenepoel seen by Magnier
Related News :