Punch and sprint sensation Magnier goes against Merlier's advice: "After Sanremo, we'll know if I'm too heavy"

Paul Magnier showed himself in 2024, and the French rider plans to step it up in 2025. The only 20-year-old sprint bomb tells IDLProCycling.com that he wants to look for even more watts at Soudal-Quick Step with a distinctive gym boost, even though his leader and mentor, Tim Merlier, is making fun of that. In the Star of Bessèges, we can see whether it has paid off from Wednesday.

At The Wolfpack, Magnier is in perfect shape after his first season in the WorldTour. After finishing fourth at the World Junior Championship in Australia as a club rider in 2022, he was picked up by continental Trinity Racing. As his most notable result, he finished third at the European Championship at VAM Mountain in the Netherlands. Soudal-Quick Step offered him a three-year contract after he displayed explosiveness and enormous potential.

That real talents anno 2025 need no adaptation period, Magnier proved in his first races in 2024. He immediately won the Trofeo Ses Salines-Felanitx on Mallorca and sprinted to victory in a tricky finish at the Tour of Oman. Back in the U23 category, he won two stages, and the points classification at the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, and he ended his year - with Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel as luxury lead-outs - with three stage wins at the Tour of Britain.

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Magnier wins in Oman, Luke Lamperti (left) cheers along

Magnier shares impressive metrics

It was at that same Tour of Britain that Magnier suffered a concussion after a crash, ending his season early. However, he was back on track during the winter, as shown by his Strava files. Magnier submitted a 5-second output of 1,687 watts and a 1-minute output of 839 watts. When we confront him about it, Magnier can only smile. He even corrects. "When I feel fresh, I get over 1,000 watts in 1 minute."

It shows the enormous engine of Magnier, who has made his mark as a good sprinter in recent seasons but, above all, a man who can handle tough finals. "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. That also means I'm a bit heavier, which makes it harder on the climbs. But I feel comfortable."

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A very young Magnier still finished third at the 2023 European Championships U23, on the Dutch VAM Mountain

Magnier understands he may be making the wrong decision in 2025

"The training sessions are going well; now I have to do the same in the races," states Magnier, who feels no pressure (yet). "I mainly have to improve myself and expect some good results. I would like to remain that puncher on the tough arrivals and have an eye on the classics. I'm working hard on my sprint but also want to win classics. We are looking at that balance with the nutrients and athletic directors, where I can also learn from others' experiences. We'll see how it works."

So, there is also a chance that it could backfire for Magnier and that he will soon be dropped with his heavy sprinting thighs on climbs that he previously could handle. The French rider is happy to take that risk. "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. So that's not a problem."

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Paul Magnier in the new shirt of Soudal-Quick Step

Magnier debuts in Milan-Sanremo, the Giro, and beautiful classics

In the Star of Bessèges, Magnier can test his sprinting legs; then he will travel through Portugal (with the Figueira Champions Classic and Tour of the Algarve) to debut in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. We will also see him in one-day work in Le Samyn, Milan-Sanremo, Ghent-Wevelgen, and Dwars door Vlaanderen while he is doing the Tirreno-Adriatico to prepare for a role as sprint leader in the Giro d'Italia in May.

"The classics will be fairly new for me, so I'll do quite a bit of scouting," Magnier looks ahead. "After Milan-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. 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."

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Magnier (left) in the green sprint jersey in Oman in 2024

Mentor Merlier questions Magnier's approach

Faced with Magnier's crazy plans, Merlier begins to smile revealingly. The 32-year-old Belgian and reigning European champion calls his teammate 'a cool guy'. "Very enthusiastic, ambitious and talented. One for the future, but many will have seen that,' he winks. 'We saw quickly last year that that boy has a lot of talent. I'm not giving him any tips; he's one of those talents who will soon be riding a bigger record than me over the next few years."

Merlier advised against gaining kilos to perform better in sprints in 2025. "Here and there, I try to point out to him that he has to focus on those classics first and not too much on that sprint. It's also a mental issue. If you put on some kilos, you know you are also a little less good uphill. That was his strong point in 2024, so I tried to make him understand that such a change could happen differently. He is now striking a good balance; he has understood."

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Tim Merlier, mentor to Paul Magnier

Magnier happy with guys like Merlier, Evenepoel and Giro man Landa on the team

Magnier agrees that he listens to the top leaders. "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."

"In the Giro, Mikel Landa may be able to help me stay calm in my first experience against the best sprinters in the world," Magnier looked further ahead. "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."

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

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