INTERVIEW. At only 19 years old, Paul Magnier, hopeful of French cycling and Soudal Quick-Step, won his first professional race on his first day of racing this Thursday, January 25.

At just 19 years old, young French rider Paul Magnier won his very first professional race on the 2nd round of the Challenge Mallorca, in a sprint, after being perfectly launched by his teammate Luke Lamperti. Despite the presence of Lampaert, Moscon, Cattaneo, the Belgian team trusted its young rider and it paid off!

Two months ago, at the dawn of his first season in contact with the best runners on the planet, Paul Magnier spoke by telephone, before leaving for Belgium for the presentation of the 2024 squad of the Soudal Quick- Step. He recounts his discovery of the professional world, his first doubts when he fell ill in the spring, his meeting with Julian Alaphilippe and the other riders of his future team…

How did you get into cycling when you were younger?

When I was younger, I was quite “multi-sport”, because in the Grenoble region you can go skiing, and I also did a lot of tennis and athletics. My father always rode competitively, even when he was young. I used to go see him on weekends when I was little. In eighth grade, he bought me a bike, so I started going shopping with him. And after that, the competitive spirit came quickly.

Becoming a professional, what will it change in your daily life?

It’s going to become my job, so I’m making it more of a priority. The studies will be secondary, but I will continue so that I can also take my mind off things, see other people outside the world of cycling (editor’s note: he is currently in a STAPS license). Training will inevitably take up more space. And then there’s also everything that’s aside from training: recovery, for example. When you spend your day in class, it’s complicated to have the same performance in training. I will also be able to focus on nutrition, sleep… The training volume will be adapted with the coaches so as not to have too big a difference from year to year, so as not to create an overload.

Why did you choose the Soudal Quick-Step? Have you had any contact with other teams?

I started to “explode” on the road in Juniors 2 (18 year old, 2022). At that time, I quickly had contacts with all the “Continental” teams in the region, in particular all the Belgian and French teams… Ultimately, it was done quite quickly with Trinity, because it was the only one opportunity I had to be able to do mountain biking and road racing in the same team. Then Soudal Quick-Step contacted me very early, like other teams. They offered me an internship with them in December and January (2022-2023). I accepted willingly. It went really well, I was very well integrated into the team, even though I was just a young 18-year-old. At the table, they didn’t hesitate to come to me, especially the French runners: Rémi Cavagna, Julian Alaphilippe, Florian Sénéchal… I really appreciated that. And when I was sick, it was the team that stayed closest to me (editor’s note: Paul Magnier had mononucleosis for part of the 2023 season, causing sometimes disappointing results). For example, Johan Molly (Soudal Quick-Step scout) had not cut contact once and checked in every week. It weighed in my decision. And, of course, Soudal Quick-Step is one of the best teams in the peloton.

Are you in regular contact with your new team, looking forward to the upcoming season?

I don’t know if it’s because I’m young or if it’s the case for all runners, but there are a lot of contacts, video calls… It obviously gives you confidence, we don’t don’t feel lost, even in a big team like this. Julian (Alaphilippe), I really fell in love with him during the internships, and we stayed in touch afterwards. We send each other a few messages sometimes before the races. He also had injuries, he gave me advice on how to deal with that and the pressure from the media for example. It’s not exactly the same thing, but I experienced a somewhat similar situation when I had mononucleosis. I was coming off an almost perfect season in Juniors 2 and I kind of disappeared from the radar in Espoirs 1. It was mentally difficult, especially when you train like crazy but the results don’t follow. But it made me grow, and it’s good that it happened to me during my developmental years.

How was the period with the merger rumors between the Soudal Quick-Step and Jumbo Visma teams? Were you in the unknown for your future?

I was a bit like everyone else, I saw the news in the press. My agent tried to find out a little, but we mostly had to wait. The Soudal Quick-Step immediately gave me renewed confidence when it cleared up. And either way, I knew I was going to get an opportunity somewhere. If it didn’t happen on the World Tour, I could have stayed at Trinity or gone to another team. I didn’t worry too much about that.

You will join the World Tour team directly without going through the development team. It’s a leap into the deep end that’s still rare, at only 19 years old. How was this decision made?

They had a place for me in the World Tour and a place in the Continental (development team). I discussed it with the coaches and sports directors, and together we made the choice to launch myself on the World Tour so that I could develop in the best conditions, with the best staff in particular. But also with an adapted program and U23 races (under 23). For example, I should do Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23 and the Baby Giro (Giro U23) to test my climbing abilities. I will also do professional stage races, but no Grand Tour for the moment, only races of five to ten days. Obviously, the European and World Championships (in the U23 category) will also be a goal at the end of the season. The team is aware that I am still young, and we are not going to skip any steps.

How was your first year in the adult road peloton, with Trinity?

The beginning was a bit hard because my level of English wasn’t great, but I quickly progressed and now I can get by in English, whereas before… (laughs). The atmosphere was great, and we had great results this year (editor’s note: several stage victories). Thanks to them I was able to go mountain biking and road riding without asking any questions. It was in the Continental category, so there weren’t courses and competitions every week either. Next year with the Soudal Quick-Step, there will be many more days of competition, courses, events, meetings with sponsors and all that…

Will you continue to combine mountain biking and road cycling?

I will aim to do a lot more road competitions. But, during training, I also go mountain biking to continue to vary the pleasures. For competitions, it’s a bit to be seen. This will be based on the speed at which I develop, because the primary goal is for me to become a great road athlete. Afterwards, we know that outdoor disciplines like mountain biking or cyclocross can help with development, so we can add more to the calendar. The coaches told me they wouldn’t hesitate if I wanted them to.

How are you preparing for your first real professional season?

I work with a Soudal Quick-Step trainer. Everything is detailed, it’s the first time I’ve seen that. Otherwise, for long outings, we organize ourselves with other runners in the region. Eddy Finé (Cofidis runner) lives very close to me, there are a lot of runners and mountain bikers in the region. I always manage to find a small group. I will also train with Antoine Huby (another French runner who will join the Soudal Quick-Step) in Nice soon. We are well organized (laughs). We have increasingly precise sleep and activity sensors which allow the team to have maximum data even outside of training. And obviously now everyone uses power and heart rate sensors. Nutrition on the bike takes on a lot of importance, as does recovery. We go to the osteopath once a month, we have regular blood tests… They can also help us with the mental aspect. It’s full of little details that sometimes make the difference.

Which runner do you want to become? What races would you dream of winning?

The classics make me dream. And one of my biggest career goals, if it’s possible one day, would be to be world champion. Being able to wear a jersey for a whole season. European champion also obviously. I like profiles like Christophe Laporte or Mathieu van der Poel, who are tall like me, with a lot of “punch” and a good sprint, which are also my main qualities. I’m still young so I haven’t finished developing. I grew again this winter, we will see over time how I evolve.

If you go towards these profiles, you will have a good mentor in the person of Julian Alaphilippe…

It’s certain, he had two world champion titles, classics, and then he shone in the Tour de France too… But that’s still a long way off for me (smile).

Would you like to add anything?

I would still like to thank the Trinity team, who were there when I came back with zero physical condition after my mononucleosis. They quickly trusted me, I worked with a team coach for the end of the season. They registered me directly for the Tour du Limousin, where I finished 2nd in the last stage, then for the Tour of Great Britain, which is their number one race since the team is British. I was extremely motivated for the end of the season and they had faith in me. Pierre-Yves Chatelon (coach of the France Espoirs team) also contacted me quickly after my illness and showed me great signs of confidence. I can only thank him.