The Tour de Pologne is well-known as breakthrough territory for young sprinters searching for their first WorldTour win, and Paul Magnier more than fulfilled that tradition on Thursday when he blasted off close to the finish line at Cieszyn.
In the closing metres of a severely technical finishing circuit complete with cobbled sections, multiple corners and changes of gradient through the streets of the south Polish border town, the Soudal-QuickStep racer timed his move on the slightly uphill finish to perfection, coming off the wheel of stage 3 winner Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) to claim the victory by several bike lengths.
Second in the opening battle for the line at Legnica on stage 1 behind the top sprinter in Poland, Dutchman Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) – who also opened up his own WorldTour victory tally in Poland several years ago – on Thursday it was a very different story.
In the process, too, as the Frenchman secured Soudal's first victory following Remco Evenepeol's announcement he would be leaving for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in 2026, Magnier was able to remind the cycling world there will be plenty of other Soudal riders ready to shine in his place.
"We will see what happens. For the moment, there are different goals for the team, but for me not so much," Magnier told reporters afterwards.
"We have some new big transfers and with Tim Merlier, too, we will be really focused on the Classics. So I'm sure the team will find another way to get some nice victories with other riders."
As fresh evidence of that potential, despite his young age Magnier was able to handle the very complicated finishing circuit with confidence and no small amount of technical skill, while his stage 1 nemesis Kooij was nowhere to be seen.
"It was a really tough stage today with some climbs in the middle where I suffered a bit but I was quite confident that I could do something on the final circuit. I was quite confident that I could do a good result today," he said.
"On the final circuit I kept on pushing and I was in a really good position. It let me save energy and in the last 300 metres I really had super legs, so I'm very happy to get my first WorldTour win here."
Magnier's motivation was boosted even further by the presence of his parents watching at the finish line, and cheering loudly as he crossed in first place. As he explained to reporters his mother and father are following the whole of the Tour de Pologne in a camper van, and he was delighted to be able to take the victory in front of them. As he put it: "Having them here gave me an extra push."
The terrain, too, suited him well, with the slightly uphill drag to the line and complex finishing circuit two key factors that favoured riders like him, he explained.
"It was exactly the kind of finish I like, very like a Classic. I'm good at positioning my bike on the cobbles, so I'm really proud to get that victory with the team."
Magnier's ability to handle the pavé was already more than proven this spring, where he took a notable second at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Belgium's opening Classic, in February as well as runner's-up spot in the very tough mid-week race that followed, Le Samyn.
Prior to that, another near-miss in the Figuiera Champions Classic in Portugal on a much hillier circuit behind young Portuguese star Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) strongly suggests that he could do well on short, punchy climbs as well.
For now, in any case, Magnier can celebrate his breakthrough WorldTour victory in Poland, and look towards perhaps securing another win on stage 5 at Zakopane before helping his team's GC options over the weekend.
"I got a lot of second places already, another on the first stage, and I really wanted to do better," Magnier added. "Today, I made it."
