"I celebrated and then I said I’m not sure" - Is Paul Magnier makes a strong argument for Giro d'Italia ciclamino goal with second stage win

Paul Magnier came into the Giro d'Italia after a spring campaign in which he tested himself as a classics rider, but without too much success. It was fair to question his form heading into the Giro d'Italia; but now he leaves towards Italy with two stage wins during the race's brief stint in Bulgaria.

“Now I have to say that I feel really good, and I can be with the best sprinters in the world. I will try to enjoy this moment and keep going as long as I can," the Frenchman said in a post-race interview.

It is a stage win of confirmation. In Burgas, the Frenchman won stage 1 and had the pink jersey on his shoulders as a consequences. On Friday he beat Tobias Lund Andresen; and this afternoon in Sofia, he was once again the fastest, beating Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen in a head-to-head sprint.

“It’s thanks to the whole Soudal - Quick-Step team. We did a great job all day and I have to say thank you to the team for controlling all day. That’s not easy, but they put me in the best position in the final kilometers and I’m very proud I had the legs to do that sprint in the finale.”

The Frenchman had already proved his sprinting worth, but continues to increase the quality of his palmarès via some very important triumphs. Soudal - Quick-Step are currently the team that can be the happiest with the Bulgarian Grande Partenza.

“I dreamed about it, it was the goal to go for the stage again. The team did an amazing job again. We controlled all day and then we had the plan to really be in a good position at 1k to go, and this is what we did". The sprint had a slight left-hand bend and the speeds were very high, and Magnier delivered. "I wasn’t really sure I had won the stage at first, to be honest. I celebrated and then I said I’m not sure.”

He has reinforced his lead in the points classification, now with 105 points against Milan's 64 - putting him as the main favourite to win it. But stage wins are the main goal. “First of all, we’ll travel to Italy and enjoy the second victory, it’s something amazing. When we arrive in Italy, we’ll do a plan and try to go for another stage.”

It has been a few years since a French sprinter has had such success at the start of the Giro, but Magnier is mattching the wins of Arnaud Démare who was the winner of this classification in 2020 and 2022. “Arnaud Démare was maybe the best sprinter in the world at the time. He sent me a message on Instagram after my win the other day, and that meant a lot," he concluded.