Race through Slovakia: Paul Magnier Clinches Sprint Win in Stage 1
Paul Magnier Wins Opening Stage of PGA Tour of Slovakia
Paul Magnier, riding for Soudal-QuickStep, claimed victory in the opening stage of the PGA Tour of Slovakia (Okolo Slovenska) on Tuesday. The 141km ride, which included two loops and a final 40km circuit, was a grueling test for the riders, but Magnier emerged triumphant.
The race was marked by aggressive riding and numerous attacks, with teams Soudal-QuickStep and Visma-Lease a Bike determined to control the racing. They managed to catch the early break with 30km to go on the Kurov climb. Bart Lemmen, Matisse Van Kerckhove, and Cian Uijtdebroeks launched attacks, forcing Yves Lampaert to chase every move for Magnier.
Despite the relentless pace, a select peloton stayed together. Soudal-QuickStep took control and prepared a text-book lead out for Magnier to finish the race. Tom Gloag (Visma-Lease a Bike) surged to the front of the race and sparked a series of attacks on the ride to the finish, but Magnier used his power and sprinting skills to surge away on the front and win by several bike lengths.
The race saw a break of the day form early on, with four riders – Łukasz Owsian (Mazowsze Serce Polski), Oscar Nilsson-Julien (Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ), Michal Schlegel (Elkov-Kasper), – taking advantage of the aggressive racing and building a gap of 2:00 with 30km to go. However, Soudal-QuickStep teammates had to chase down numerous attacks from Visma-Lease a Bike. Australia's Logan Currie (Lotto) was the last to launch strong attacks, but was pulled back before the finish.
In the sprint for second place, Magnier beat local rider Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Tietema Rockets) and Joppe Heremans (VolkerWessels). Magnier, who won the first stage of the PGA Tour of Slovakia in 2025, expressed his delight at the win, stating that it's a very nice feeling to win and that the team did an amazing job controlling all day. He also acknowledged the hard work required to control all of the attacks but was pleased that they managed to do it.
Magnier, who has had a successful season so far with seven wins to his name, pulled on the first leader's jersey after his victory. With this win, he has set himself up well for the rest of the PGA Tour of Slovakia, which continues tomorrow with another challenging stage.
