Soudal-Quick Step youngsters Magnier and Lamperti turn cycling world upside down: "We have a special bond"

On Monday, Paul Magnier won the third stage of the Tour of Oman. The 19-year-old Soudal-Quick Step rider was faster than his teammate Luke Lamperti and the Frenchman Bryan Coquard in a bunch sprint. The American Lamperti also takes over the lead in the general classification from New Zealander Finn Fisher-Black, who had won the second stage.

"It’s unbelievable to take another win," Magnier said in the Wolfpack's press release. "The plan was to lead out Luke, but it turned out differently. I went really deep on the climb, full gas until the finish, and it’s nice now to celebrate a victory with the team, something which we deserved after coming so close the last couple of days. We won’t stop here, as we are still motivated to go for some nice results before the end of the race”, said Paul, the first rider in the pro peloton to achieve two wins this year before turning 20.

Magnier and Lamperti have a close bond

"We came here for a win and we're glad to have gotten it," Lamperti also responded. "Paul was very strong and he won today, I came in second and we're happy with the great work of the team. The two of us have a special bond. We came from the same development team and to then immediately be successful in the pros is beautiful. I'm confident that you will see a lot of us in the future."

Initially, the third stage was supposed to finish on Eastern Mountain, a climb of 4.6 kilometers at 8.5 percent. However, the evening before, the organization decided that due to bad weather, it would not be possible to finish at this location. Instead, the peloton raced only 76 kilometers from Naseem Garden to the finish in Al Bustan. No mountain finish, therefore, which all of a sudden made the stage interesting for the sprinters.

Lamperti currently holds the red leader's jersey, the green points jersey and the white young rider's jersey. "I am happy to have the red jersey on my shoulders. It's a great feeling to lead a stage race. We'll see what happens here and with the weather, but we are determined to do our best."

The fourth stage, which once again seemed cut out for the Soudal-Quick Step duo, was shortened this morning due to extreme weather conditions.