Paul Magnier is the new king of sprints in Slovakia. The Frenchman confirmed supremacy over the rest of the field at the 2.1 race with a third victory in a row. The stage 3 once again offered challenging parcours with several climbs on the route, but ultimately all paths led to a bunch sprint finish with Soudal - Quick-Step neutralizing any attacks from far out.
"It’s nice to win in the yellow jersey and keep it on my shoulders for at least one more stage," Magnier said after the stage. "The guys did another great work today: they controlled everything, reeled in the breakaway, and then brought back those attacks that came in the hills."
Once again, the lead out of Soudal - Quick-Step was on point. With four man at the front in last kilometer, there was hardly any competition for the man in yellow jersey. Behind, the only and closest challenger was once again the ever-second Lukas Kubis of Unibet Tietema Rockets. But not even he could threaten Magnier.
"Then, in the finale, they made sure to put me in an excellent position for the last 200 meters, and all I had to do from there was finish it off. I’m delighted I could do that, especially at the end of a day with so much climbing. We now have two victories and it would be nice to not stop here," said Paul.
And it's not the end of the race for Magnier yet as the fourth stage from Vráble to Sládkovičovo will feature a plain flat sprint after 169 kilometers of racing.
Magnier continues to lead the general classification, 15 seconds ahead of Lukas Kubis and with 33-second advantage over the main group of riders. With the last stage finishing on Kohutka, a 5.5 km climb at 6.5%, Magnier could even considering trying to stick around for a GC result, although there are much better climbers in the race.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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