"I want to be the last survivor there one day" - Paul Magnier fascinated about the prospect of one day winning the Tour of Flanders
Cycling
Paul Magnier had a stellar professional debut over the past twelve months, consolidating himself as one of the most promising young sprinters in the peloton with eight victories in 2024.
Partly because of the lessons he learned from Julian Alaphilippe in his first pro year. "Julian is really a mentor to me," Magnier tells Wieler Revue. "He gave me many emotional moments in front of the television. To be able to race with him was great. He may have left, but we still keep in touch."
First big crash
The two-time world champion gave Magnier advice when the latter retired from the Tour of Britain after a serious crash near the end of last season. "I was in bed for six weeks because my head was hit hard, and I could barely move my left leg for two weeks. That made me lose a lot of muscle mass."
"It was very difficult to see myself deteriorate so quickly," Magnier continues. "It was my first big crash, but when I called Julian about it, he told me from his own experience that I should stay calm. That was the key to my recovery. I feel very good again now and I am really looking forward to 2025. I don't think too much about my previous season anymore."
Tour of Flanders
At the moment, Magnier is mainly is a rising sprinter, but winning on Champs-Elyseés is not his biggest dream as you may think. Instead, the Frenchman dreams of the biggest classics like Tour of Flanders. "I like that you have to be the very best on that one day. I dream of the Tour of Flanders. That race is important for the team, but just as much for myself."
"It's a survival trip, I want to be the last survivor there one day. It's a race that also has to suit me, because I'm someone who can survive the necessary hills in addition to his sprint. I don't want to be just a sprinter, because I also like to train in the hills and mountains. In that respect, I like a bit of everything."
Magnier will start his season at the Etoile de Bessèges and then ride the Volta ao Algarve, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo and Gent-Wevelgem, among others. Then in the spring he will do his first Grand Tour with the Giro d'Italia. The Tour of Flanders he may skip this year in favor of the Giro, but
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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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