"He's like Wout van Aert... I think he's even a lot faster than Wout" - Tim Merlier's big praise for Quick-Step wonderkid who's set for Grand Tour debut at Giro d'Italia
CyclingSunday, 12 January 2025 at 19:26
Tim Merlier looks set for a big season in 2025 after Soudal - Quick-Step confirmed the Belgian sprinter is set to share team leadership at the 2025 Tour de France alongside Remco Evenepoel. According to Merlier himself though, a Soudal - Quick-Step wonderkid who's set to make a Grand Tour debut at the coming Giro d'Italia could be the rider to watch.
The rider in question, is 20-year-old Frenchman Paul Magnier, who in his debut season at World Tour level in 2024, added five victories to his palmares, including a stage of the Tour of Oman, three stages of the Tour of Britain and victory at Spanish one-day race Trofeo Ses Salines-Felanitx. "For me, he's a type like Wout van Aert," Merlier praises warmly to Sporza. "A classic rider who's super fast. I think he's even a lot faster than Wout."
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As mentioned, Magnier is set to make a Grand Tour debut in 2025 as part of Soudal - Quick-Step's lineup for the Giro d'Italia, aiming for sprint victories and riding in support of Mikel Landa's quest for the Maglia Rosa in Italy.
For Merlier too, Grand Tour stage victories will be a target in 2025 at the aforementioned Tour de France. "I feel very good here and the trust is mutual," says the European champion, who recently secured a long-term contract extension. "I already said last year that it was possible to go there (the Tour de France) together. We are trying to do that this year and we want to show the outside world that it is possible. I am convinced of that myself. The classification men are still at the front until the final. If I can join my wagon with Bert van Lerberghe and then do my thing, then something is possible. A full train is not necessary for us."
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magnier is “a lot faster than wout”? really? because i haven’t seen ANYONE who’s a LOT faster than wout. van der poel is a LITTLE faster than wout, sometimes. pogačar is a little faster then wout, sometimes. but magnier is just A LOT FASTER, apparently. ok, tim…
Comparing now yes but I think what he was trying to bring over is that he’s progessing so well that he’s on a par or faster than Wout was at his stage (which can be considered kind of true but as Wout wasn’t on the road to compare and Magnier has kind of stopped CC (to please those who got sick of XC) and MTB, it could be debated infinitely :-) Let’s just agree that for a kid just fresh from school, at age 20 he’s got no problem mixing it with the big boys when it comes to crossing the line first, he was one of the revelations of 2024 but as we know, it’s a result in the GTs that decide if the masses pick you up. If you look at the 2024 Tour of Britain (a favourite of Wout), he won 3/6 stages, came 2nd once, lead the peleton to cross in 9th once and would have been a favourite to win the last stage too if he hadn’t fallen (another favourite ou Wout ;-)), that’s pretty impressive for a 20y old and shows he not only has the speed but also the stamina to have it repetitively, I accept the comparison, he could be the next Wout, a little less versatile and probably not quite the stamina for 3 week GTs but a little faster for finishes? It’s possible.
sure, i totally get that he’s incredibly promising. that would be a great thing to say, “WOW, this kid has a great engine and massive potential, so much he makes me think of a young wout van aert!” i get it though, merlier isn’t a professional spokesman. it’s not his job to always say the right thing. someone shoved a microphone in his face and asked him about young guy he’s really excited to ride with. that’s cool. all good, tim. all i’m saying is in an ideal world he might have said something other than that the 20 year old is A LOT FASTER than one of the greatest racers of this generation.
Yes, but then again, unlike some, they are not presented with a list of questions to prepare answers and journalists keep the prerogative to reassemble quotes in whatever order makes a story so in many cases we have no context of in which situation/relation he said it. I think, as I’ve implied before, people should revert to taking more time to try and get the feel of what or why someone is saying to get the broad view as opposed to focusing on a detail. I know people love the short and cool statements found on SM but they rarely lead to constructive discussion, reflection or understanding, just impulsive reactions which is great for revealing someone’s feelings but says little about the background that created them.
for all i know Merlier and Wout are besties and Tim just thought it would be really funny to needle his buddy — “OMG, he’s so much faster than Wout its crazy!” WTF do any of us ever know, really.
Yeah, that would be funny, as long as it doesn’t backfire and we have to wait 20 years to read about it in someone’s autobiography ;-) At least they’re not having a public go at each other like so often in the 100m sprint in athletics or Kerr and Ingebrigtsen.
no kidding. i remember when the pro peloton had the really edgy, nasty tone to it. many will want to blame armstrong for that but it went back WAAAYYYY before him. hinault presided over a culture like that, too, and others before him. it really sucked because amateur racers would emulate the pros and when i got into the sport i remember thinking “wow, bicycle racers are the biggest a**holes on the planet.” i’m not sure what caused the pro culture to change, but that change has been cemented by the greats of the sport — pogacar, van der poel, van aert, on and on — being great SPORTSMEN who are much more inclined to congratulate than hate each other. some may miss the old “get your hate on” days. i do not.
Amen