CRO Race is Paul’s race

Ninth victory in the last eleven days of racing for the phenomenal Frenchman.

Paul Magnier repeated his extraordinary achievement from Okolo Slovenska at the CRO Race, where the 21-year-old old powered to his fourth stage victory at the end of a day that, at least on paper, shouldn’t have ended in a bunch sprint.

The crucial point of the day was Plesivica, the 7km climb averaging 5% that the peloton tackled inside the final 25 kilometers of the stage, just after the last intermediate sprint. What remained of the breakaway started it with a gap of more than a minute, but the peloton pushed hard there in order to drop the fast men, which resulted in that deficit being completely erased before the top of the ascent.

Soudal Quick-Step’s speedster climbed admirably, showing again just how versatile he is, and with the help of Antoine Huby and Pepijn Reinderink, he remained excellently positioned on the fast and technical descent that followed and where some riders tried to get away. The peloton, despite being significantly reduced, kept things together and rode together under the flamme rouge. At that point, Paul was in 15th position, but thanks to a colossal effort of Pepijn, he stormed at the front just in time for the closing 200 meters, where he once again showcased his incredible turn of legs to capture his 14th win of the season.

Photo credit: ©Sport-IT