"When I feel fresh, I get over 1,000 watts in 1 minute" - Paul Magnier ready to challenge the best sprinters in the world

This morning, Paul Magnier starts his 2025 season at the Etoile de Besssèges with the number 51, leading a Soudal - Quick-Step that will be supporting the Frenchman in hopes of a stage win against the likes of Mads Pedersen and Arnaud De Lie. However, not only does he not fear such powerful riders, but he is looking to make a statement himself.

"When I feel fresh, I get over 1,000 watts in 1 minute. I have seen in 2024 that I am good in the classics and the bunch sprints. I would like to be a little bit faster in 2025, so I went to the gym a lot this winter to gain more power," Magnier told In de Leiderstrui. "That also means I'm a bit heavier, which makes it harder on the climbs. But I feel comfortable."

Coincidentally, the finale of stage 1 will be atop a 600-meter ramp which should make for an effort of just over a minute. In 2024, his neo-pro season, the 20-year old already impressed with several victories including his very first race with the team, and this year he's already looking to implement himself at an higher level.

The muscle gain is an ongoing project which he is testing to see if it is successful. "I'm not worried. I'm still young, so I still have many years to determine my good weight and balance. If that takes three years, I'm still only 23 (after the three years, ed.). So that's not a problem". Magnier will be racing Milano-Sanremo later this spring, and although there are riders of his weight well able to perform on the shallow climbs such as the Cipressa and Poggio di Sanremo, it will be an important test for him.

"The classics will be fairly new for me, so I'll do quite a bit of scouting. After Milano-Sanremo, we'll probably already know if I'm too heavy. How much weight did I gain? The scales indicated 79 to 80 kilos in the winter, about 5 kilos more than last season," he reveals. "But I hope to lose 1 or 2 kilos before the start of the season. Again, I'm not worried; all my records have improved, and the preparation has gone well."

Magnier is a huge talent and he is already well spoken of very highly despite his young age, benefiting simultaneously from the lack of pressure in a team that has several leaders on several fields. "That's why I'm on this team: we have Evenepoel, Merlier, and many other great riders. I can learn a lot from their experience and also from the sports directors. For example, Merlier taught me a lot during the Tour of Poland last year, how he is constantly working on the sprint and how he prepares it. Such riders are important to me."

Furthermore, the team will deposit a lot of trust in him, with a co-leadership at the Giro d'Italia where he will be the team's sprint option. "In the Giro, Mikel Landa may be able to help me stay calm in my first experience against the best sprinters in the world. I have a lot of ambitions, but I also have to stay calm. I sprint well during training; last year, I even won from Merlier at times. But he won sixteen races, and I only won five. I like to put my results on Strava because I like it when others do that. But don't worry, nobody needs to be scared of me."