"Some people were very hard on him": Soudal Quick-Step CEO defends Paul Magnier's failed spring after Giro masterclass

The "post-Evenepoel" Soudal - Quick-Step felt a little bleak in the first months of 2026, and it's taken until Giro d'Italia to finally reclaim the spotlight in one of their fine disciplines; bunch sprints. Paul Magnier stood on top of the feeding chain in three out of four bunch sprints and brought home a valuable points classification jersey, leaving a lackluster spring far behind.

It's true that Quick-Step management had greater expectations of Magnier for this spring campaign than an 11th place at Omloop Het Nieuwsbald, but team CEO Jurgen Foré points out that failure is also an opportunity to learn towards years to come.

"I think some people were very hard on him in the spring," Foré points out to WielerFlits. After all, Magnier is still a very young rider: "Paul only turned 22 in March."

"Yes, we had ambitions in the spring, but he was quite ill at the start of the season and you don't just erase that. Then he had bad luck in the opening weekend and in races like In Flanders Fields – where under normal circumstances he always competes for the prizes. Perhaps he also made a number of rookie mistakes due to inexperience."

After a spring without any outstanding results, the analysts grew somewhat sceptical of Magnier's chances for the Giro d'Italia where two-time maglia ciclamino winner Jonathan Milan was profiled as a man to beat. Little did anyone know that the Frenchman would make a swift process of the home favourite... except for Soudal - Quick-Step who never questioned their leader.

"We never doubted him, but we had to keep him calm. Everyone knows he has the qualities. But by now, you can also see from his positioning that he really comes at the right moments, senses when he ideally needs to attack, and then just sprints to the finish line," Foré highlights.

However, just as important as these victories was the reaffirmation that, with enough patience, results will come. And even if Classics don't work out next year too, Magnier can rely on the rockets in his legs to come back swinging in a world-class competition.

And the news that Magnier can measure against the best brings Quick-Step in a great position with an even greater sprint star Tim Merlier slowly working his way back from a knee injury in the shadow of Magnier.

"Winning against the best sprinters in the world - except for his teammate Tim Merlier, of course - means a lot. The world elite was present in this Giro. Of the four pure mass sprints that took place, he won three. That does a lot for a rider mentally; the realisation that you can win at the very highest level."

But what stands out the most to Foré is Magnier's victory on stage 18, when he had to overcome adversity in the form of a very steep climb to reach the sprint - an ability he'll put to great use at the Classics one day:

"He surprised me in the Giro d'Italia by surviving more climbs than some other sprinters. We are convinced that he can do the same in one-day races, and there is still a lot of room for growth. He definitely has a fast and powerful finishing kick; he will win many races with that," Foré concludes.