Magnier has been rather under the radar but has been performing at this Giro, with another opportunity this Saturday with the arrival at Nova Gorica, with a few punchy climbs in the final kilometers that may benefit the Frenchman. However, there is world-class competition to go through in order to achieve success.
"Last year, he crashed badly in the Tour of Britain, where we slightly underestimated the impact and had to leave him in the hospital, partly out of necessity. That crash took its toll, but he has now put that episode behind him, judging by Napoli," Lefevere believes.
"On Thursday (stage 12, ed.), Paul was really disappointed. He was where he needed to be in the sprint, but then he hit a pothole, and his chain came off. He got it back on quickly and still finished eighth, so we really have to take our hats off to him again. But at the same time, it's obviously a missed opportunity."
Without Mikel Landa, the team has had more freedom to chase their individual results, but Mattia Cattaneo hasn't had luck with breakaways, Josef Cerny was injured from the crash on stage 8, whilst both Cattaneo and Ethan Hayter found stronger competition in the time-trial.
And when it comes to the sprints, there haven't been many opportunities to be in contention. "In this Giro, the opportunities for sprinters like Paul are scarce. If Mario Cipollini had been a rider today, he would have never achieved his 42 Giro victories," Lefevere argues. "With a bit of luck, we had three flat stages. Otherwise, there is always some elevation, and then Mads Pedersen, who is in the form of his life, is unbeatable".
"There is one more sprint opportunity in the final week, and on the final day in Rome, the fast men will also have their chance, but Paul won't be there to see it," he reveals. "In theory, he will leave the race on Monday, the rest day. At this point in his career, two weeks are more than enough."