Did the Tirreno crash kill Magnier's dream Sanremo debut? "Of course Pogacar is going to explode"

He had been looking forward to it for months—since December in sunny Calpe, to be precise. Paul Magnier reshuffled his training plan and got confirmation of his good form at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He then finished second behind a dominant Mathieu van der Poel in Le Samyn and wanted to race Tirreno-Adriatico to hit peak form for Milan-Sanremo. Everything was going according to plan—until he crashed in the final sprint on the last day. La Primavera still seems within reach, but will his chances of a top result be affected?

"It was his second crash of the day, after already being involved in a pile-up 80 kilometers from the finish. Fortunately, he avoided any serious injuries, though he will need to be reassessed by the team doctors on Monday," Soudal-Quick Step stated in a press release Sunday evening regarding Magnier’s condition. A relief, because the crash in the final sprint was a nasty one.

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Magnier learned a lot in his tough Tirreno days

On the fourth day of the Tirreno-Adriatico, IDLProCycling.com spoke with a still-smiling Paul Magnier. "This is my first time racing at WorldTour level in a race like this, so I’m here to learn. I’ve already seen that I still have a lot of progress to make, but I’m young and I enjoy discovering new things and taking it all in. It’s tough at times, but I’m happy to be here," he said, reflecting on his first days in Italy.

On stage four, Magnier sprinted to fourth place, but just a day earlier, he had been dropped on a climb he felt he should have handled better. "I really didn’t feel good that day, but I need to learn how to dress better for the conditions. I didn’t wear enough layers, so I was really cold." The next day, however, he was right up there in the sprint. "At first, we weren’t necessarily planning to chase back when we were in the group behind. I didn’t feel great, but there were enough teams with a key rider there, so they did the work."

But then, his teammate Mikel Landa had a mechanical issue in the final, forcing the team to go all out. "When Mikel had a problem, we had to go full gas to catch back up. Once we made it back, I figured I might as well sprint," he laughed, looking back on his surprise top-five finish on day four of Tirreno-Adriatico. That smile grew even wider when he recalled the sprint itself—or rather, what didn’t really feel like a sprint to him. "My teammates were really strong, but honestly, what I did didn’t even feel like a sprint. It was more like just accelerating, haha."

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Magnier is counting on Pogacar, but can he keep up (already)?

All the experience gained in Tirreno-Adriatico should help Paul Magnier moving forward. "This is a different level, and I have to learn from it. It’s exciting to compete against such big riders," he said, referring to his head-to-head battle in the sprint with Mathieu van der Poel and Olav Kooij. Though he didn’t come close to winning, that didn’t seem to be his main goal—instead, he was testing his engine for what’s to come.

Because on Saturday, March 22, despite his crash in Tirreno, Magnier is still set to start Milan-Sanremo—a race he dreams of winning one day. "Milan-Sanremo suits my qualities, but I still have a lot to learn there. It’s a Monument, not an easy race. I’m going to gain experience, but to learn as much as possible, I need to make it as far as I can in the final. I’m not stressed about it."

In recent years, Milan-Sanremo has become a much harder race, thanks to Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates making it a battle of attrition. "Of course, Pogačar will explode on the Cipressa and Poggio. He has the team for it, but in Milan-Sanremo, there are always so many possibilities," Magnier pointed out. He will be a true rookie on the Via Roma, experiencing Sanremo for the first time. "I’ve never been to Sanremo before, but after Tirreno-Adriatico, I’ll go there to scout the route."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])     

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