"I don’t think that was the plan" - Quick-Step taken by surprise but land Paul Magnier's third win and maglia ciclamino

Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia was expected to be contested between the breakaway riders, stage winner Paul Magnier himself admitted. Soudal - Quick-Step however found themselves taking the win after the perfect storm had developed for their two main riders, who executed the sprint finish to perfection.

"No really, I did not expect it will happen today, so this is why it makes it even more beautiful, but yeah, I can really thank my team for the confidence," Magnier said in a post-race interview. Magnier and Quick-Step believed the breakaway would be successful on a day that was mostly flat but featured the 11% average climb to the Muro di ca'del Poggio into the final 10 kilometers. A stage that a few teams dared to control, despite the high risk of missing out in the finale.

The pace was high and maglia bianca Afonso Eulálio attacked on two occasions, trying to create a difference to the split GC group. Magnier was in a larger peloton behind, which only made contact with the front riders with 3.5 kilometers to go - and only closer to the finish did they catch Eulálio and Johannes Kulset.

In the final sprint, the Frenchman took his third win of the race, and has gained the 50 points that put him back in the maglia ciclamino, with a tally that will now be extremely hard for Jhonatan Narváez to match. "I will enjoy the three-stage wins, and I had the pink jersey already and the Ciclamino jersey for many days, it's something that I don't expect before this Giro and I'm super proud to be there now."

A sprinter is nothing without its leadout, an expression which is at times used, which fits into today's arrival at Pieve di Soligo. The final kilometer of the stage was very technical and the roads were even wet in the final meters. There was barely any space for overtaking riders, and so Magnier succeeded off a stupendous leadout from Jasper Stuyven.

After thriving in the cobbled classics, the veteran has been absolutely key to Magnier's extensive success at the Corsa Rosa. Following the stage, Stuyven said to Eurosport: “I don’t think that was the plan when we started this morning, but sometimes it works out that way".

The Belgian himself tried going in the breakaway, but in the end he switched to his more regular role. “Paul has suffered a lot over the last few days. But maybe the fact there was no pressure on today helped us. When the teams started to control, we spoke to him and told him to stay focused, and that today could still be his day. He made that switch really well.”

In the finale, his strong sense of positioning and raw watts brought were enough to put Magnier in pole position to win the stage. “We had to bring him into the final corner in a good position if he was still there. It was downhill and slightly to the left. I think there was a lot of chaos, but we found each other at the right moment, and that’s why it worked out so well," he concluded.