Andrea Raccagni Noviero's first WorldTour season ended in China, on the other side of the world. An away trip that saw the boys of the Soudal Quick Step conquer five of the six planned stages, all signed by the young French talent Paul Magnier.
September was the month of greatest success for the sprinter born in 2004, who achieved fourteen victories in eighteen days of racing. From France to China, passing through Slovakia and Croatia, Paul Magnier left practically nothing to his opponents. Just a few crumbs.
Recalibrate
Andrea Raccagni Noviero is enjoying his holidays in the Czech Republic, where he's recently enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend, a biathlete, and he's taking stock of this first experience among the greats of world cycling. A long season, starting in January in the land of kangaroos and ending ten months later in China.
«It started out pretty well as a first year – he says – but not at its best. In the more challenging races I struggled more than expected. This is because at the beginning of the year the team had advised me to slow down a little with the loads and hours in view of the many commitmentsBut we understood that to perform I needed a few more hours of training, so in April, after the Roubaix, I changed something. Increased volume and high-intensity work to improve out-of-threshold values. In this way I have seen a notable change of pace and I am confident for next year. I should leave again from Australia, where I will have some chance to try to show off».
Let's take a moment to rewind to the record-breaking finale of 2025...
In the final part of the season I often raced alongside Paul Magnier, first in Slovakia and then in China. Of the eleven stages available, he won nine, I would say that the balance is more than positive.. He wasn't the only one, also because while we were celebrating in China with Magnier The team also achieved success with Tim Merlier and Ethan Hayter.
What's impressive about Magnier has been his consistency and ease in racking up victories. What's it like racing with him?
He's a very nice guy, but also someone who can lead the group. When you run with him you breathe a good atmosphere in the team, of course, winning helps to relax the spirits and be serene.
Is he a leader in the race?
Even though he is only twenty-one years old, he is very confident and determined, when he is there the strategy is clear: stay in front, keep the race closed and take him to the sprint. In all of this, Magnier is someone who speaks and makes himself heard a lot, even through the radio. Furthermore, he is confident and determined, he helps us to position ourselves and to make us understand what he needs.Of course, management doesn't always work.
Can you give us an example?
What I described before is the ideal situation, a race suited to his characteristics and which certainly ends in a sprint. In the most difficult stages, like the last one at the Tour of Guangxi, we rode in defenseThe route included a challenging climb that had to be done five times. We worked to keep the race close, but when the road went uphill, we had to keep up. On the last lap he dropped away, I stayed close to him and we came back on the flatIt was a lot of hard work, but then he won the sprint…
A strong signal.
It shows that he is not only a sprinter, but also an extremely endurance rider. In fact, it could be suitable for the classic cobblestones, maybe not those of the walls but an Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Gent-Wevelgem or even the Roubaix. And yet as a sprinter Magnier has proven to be among the best in the world, not in the top three, but not far off.
One of those three, Merlier, has him on his team…
That's why I said that Magnier can be a classic, in those races merlier she struggles, while he doesn't. Similarly, I believe that to reach the level of the best in the world (Philipsen and Milan, ed.) he just lacks the consistency to challenge them. He needs to prove himself.
How do you get along with him?
Good, very good. Then, as I said before, when you win so much, it's hard to feel bad. I also like my role in the race, which was initially supposed to be that of the last man, then with the change of diet and pace I became the second to last or even a few positions ahead. Magnier has his last man of confidence in Dries Van Gestel, but in some races Lampaert and Merlier's last man joined the group.
What's it like to see them in action?
Amazing, we have so much to learn. In the end, when it counts, they are capable of accelerating with 700 meters to go to take the sprinter out of the group.You wonder how they do it, but the answer is easy: they know how to file very well. Maybe in the end we'll go for ten minutes out of bounds., while they play with positions and save a lot of energy.
What is Magnier missing to compete against the best sprinters in the world?
Very few details, he has shown that he has power and strength at willMaybe, if I have to find something, a more aerodynamic position in sprintIf you look at a sprinter like Philipsen, you see a big difference, he is much more compressed on the bike than Magnier. Even though he beat him once, at the Elfstedenronde Brugge in June. So I think it's really a question of habit.
