Fourth bunch sprint in China, same outcome for Paul Magnier and the Wolfpack.
Paul Magnier never ceases to amaze. The 21-year-old notched up his fourth consecutive victory of the week after a demonstration of raw power in the closing meters of the Tour of Guangxi, where this time he produced a fantastic seated sprint to take the spoils in Jinchengjiang. For Magnier, this was the 18th win of a fantastic season, a number only three other riders reached for the Wolfpack in the team’s 23-year history: Tom Boonen in 2004 and 2006, Mark Cavendish in 2013, and Elia Viviani in 2018.
Friday’s stage was a complicated one, containing four classified climbs – some with pretty hard gradients – and a small hill just before the final ten kilometers of the race, but Soudal Quick-Step was again on duty, pacing in the peloton behind the six-man breakaway and neutralizing all the attacks that came in the closing part of the day. Riding under the flamme rouge, Paul was guided by the experienced Dries Van Gestel before hitting the front from the distance and outpowering all his opponents for our squad’s seventh consecutive victory in just three days.
It was another superb display of dominance from Paul, who picked up ten bonus seconds that helped him increase his lead in the general classification ahead of the penultimate stage, concluding on the tough climb to the Nongla Scenic Spot.
“We had to control a strong leading group, which wasn’t easy, because everyone was tired after four hard days of chasing the breakaway, but in the end also the GC teams helped and we managed to bring the group back. I want to thank my teammates for doing another fantastic job, without them this wouldn’t have been possible”, said Paul, the youngest rider in 47 years to get to 23 pro victories. “Today I had to start from far, but in the end, I could make it on my own. It was a long and hard sprint, and I’m delighted I could pull it off. It feels amazing to score again four wins in a race after Slovakia and Croatia.”
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
