The new Quick-Step star? Paul Magnier delivers brutal sprint victory at Etoile de Beseges' opening stage

Paul Magnier talked about his muscle gain and capacity to hold long sprints. This afternoon at the Etoile de Bessèges he put this power to it's best use, winning stage 1 ahead of Jordi Meeus in a brutal uphill sprint.

Almost completely flat, but the first day of the Etoile de Bessèges was no short of excitement and slowly the peloton moved towards what would be a very tense and familiar finale in Bellegarde. A breakaway of four riders went up the road early on including Axel Mariault, Célestin Guillon, Victor Vercouille and Axandre Van Petegem.

The group was caught early on, with the peloton moving at a fast pace within the strong winds and also a few moves on the circuit finale. The final ramp to the finish line was 600 meters long at 9% so a sprint was expected but not between all riders. The fight for positioning was brutal, with Unibet Tietema Rockets.

Lionel Taminiaux entered the final section in front leading out Arnaud De Lie but it was Jordi Meeus who launched his sprint first surprisingly, followed by Paul Magnier. The Frenchman timed his effort perfectly, and in the short finishing straight he outsprinted the Belgian to take a formidable first win this year - in the first race day, just as happened in 2024. He beat Jordi Meeus and in third place was Marijn van den Berg.