Paul Magnier: My best five wins of the year

The 21-year-old Frenchman – one of the most successful riders in the peloton last season – made a ranking of his most important victories of 2025.

“It’s difficult to make a ranking, because all my 19 victories were important and each of these had its own story, but if I were to start with one, then that would be my first success of the season, on the opening day of the Étoile de Bessèges. It’s a great memory, because I returned to winning ways after the crash in the Tour of Britain the year before, and got a confirmation of all the hard work I had put in during the winter. At the same time, it was special because I could dedicate it to my important grandmother, who’d passed away just a couple of days before the race.”

“Next one is the Dwars door het Hageland, which was a hard one-day race featuring cobbles and hills, and full gas from the start. I managed to prevail from a small group after a demanding race, and it was great to do it in Belgium with the Soudal Quick-Step jersey on my shoulders.”

“My victory in the Tour de Pologne was the first one I got in a World Tour race. It’s memorable, because it came after a beautiful finale, which suited me, but also because I wore the T-rex Quick-Step jersey on that day, which allowed for a nice celebration on the line.”

“In September, came my success at the Grand Prix de Fourmies. I’m putting it on the list because it was the first of the 14 wins that I took in the last five weeks of the season, but also because I had at my side Dries Van Gestel, whose experience and skills were instrumental in the incredible run I had from there on.”

“The last of these is the final stage of the Tour de Guangxi. To win after such a demanding parcours, featuring some really steep gradients, and a challenging race, at the end of a long season, made my proud of what I achieved in China, but also of my teammates. They put in an incredible amount of work, not just on that day, but during the entire week, helping me cap off in style an amazing year in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey.”

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