"I was so close, but at the end of the day, it’s a podium in my first cobbled Classic" - Paul Magnier lives up to the hype on Omloop debut

Nicknamed the 'new Tom Boonen' by his bosses at Soudal - Quick-Step, the expectations are considerable for 20-year-old Frenchman Paul Magnier. On his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad debut though, the Wolfpack's newest star more than lived up to the hype, taking 2nd place, only narrowly losing out to Soren Waerenskjold in the final sprint.

Afterwards, the sensation was quick to put the praise on his teammates. “The team encouraged me the whole day and protected me the entire time, making sure I was in a good position going into all the important climbs, while I tried to save as much energy as possible," he recollects in a press release on Soudal - Quick-Step's official website. "It was a nervous race, but we did a good job and we can be proud of this.”

The attitude of the 20-year-old is telling too. Despite such an impressive performance on his Opening Weekend debut, Magnier is slightly disappointed by the result. “Second place is a bit frustrating, especially as I was so close, but at the end of the day, it’s a podium in my first cobbled Classic, so at the same time, I am happy with this result after a hard race and an equally hard sprint in the headwind," he concludes. "It’s a good result for us and for our confidence to kick off the Classics. Now I will focus on Le Samyn next week and hopefully I will be in the position to fight for a good result also there.”