The list of previous Tour of Britain winners in Newark is short, but it points to a promising future for the Frenchman Paul Magnier, who took his second stage win in four days on the banks of the Trent. Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria (2017) and the Dutchman Olav Kooij (2023) are both sprint names to be reckoned with, and these two incisive victories suggest the 20-year-old Magnier is on the same road.
This was a finely calculated effort in a slightly less technical finish than in Kelso on Tuesday. The Israel- Premier Tech sprinter Ethan Vernon led out and as the road drifted slightly to the right, Magnier came up the narrow gap on Vernon’s left side, “through a mousehole” as Magnier put it, and the 24-year-old from Bedford resisted the temptation to close the door, giving the Frenchman a clear run to the line.
