Bad luck for Paul Magnier, who crashed in the closing kilometers of the day.
Laurenz Rex concluded in a high note this year’s edition of the “Race of the Two Seas”, sprinting to an impressive third place on the final stage, in San Benedetto del Tronto. Sixth in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and runner-up in the Samyn Classic in the past few weeks, the Belgian took the best result of his career so far in a World Tour race after a hectic finale.
Soudal Quick-Step aimed to get involved in the bunch sprint with Paul Magnier, and for that reason, our team controlled things on Sunday, trying to keep everything together on the climbs and pulling hard to bring back the large group that managed to open a gap on the steepest part of the last ascent. Ayco Bastiaens once again did a great job, reeling in some late attacks on the last lap of the local circuit, while Dries Van Gestel protected Paul Magnier, making his way through the field with the Frenchman on his wheel in the closing kilometers.
Unfortunately for our squad’s hopes, a crash that took place in a corner just before the last two kilometers saw the Frenchman hit the ground, which forced the Wolfpack to change plans in the finale. The same Van Gestel piloted Rex, and the 25-year-old produced a strong sprint to finish in third place, behind Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who took the win.
“We knew it was going to be hard on the climbs, and some teams tried to split the group there. We tried to keep everything under control and the guys did a great job. We worked hard the entire day and pulled for Paul, confident in his chances, but unfortunately, he crashed. I got in Dries’ wheel with one kilometer to go and could do a good sprint, finishing third. It’s a good result, which shows the progress I’ve made in bunch sprints since joining the team, but at the same time it’s frustrating, because if we have had Paul with us, we’re confident we could have won today. Results don’t even matter now, we just hope he is well”, Laurenz said after the stage.
A couple of minutes after the stage ended, Magnier concluded the race and was immediately assessed by the Soudal Quick-Step medical staff, which ruled out any serious injuries, but will continue to monitor Paul – who suffered a contusion of the lower back and a small abrasion to the knee in the crash.
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