Neo-pro Paul Magnier crashed out of the Tour of Britain during hectic stage 6 on Sunday, and the Soudal Quick-Step Team confirmed he suffered a concussion in the fall.
“Paul underwent a CT scan which revealed a serious brain concussion that requires him to spend the night in the hospital. At the same time, the 20-year-old suffered some serious abrasions to his elbow and knee that will need some stitching,” the team stated in a medical update.
The revelation at this year’s Tour of Britain, Magnier had dominated the bunch sprints, winning three of the five stages and aiming to contest the expected sprint on the final stage. His teammates double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe provided some of the firepower to help position him in the first five stages.
But, the French rider missed the key split during the aggressive 158.4 km stage 6, when the peloton encountered crosswinds as they raced from Lowestoft to Felixstowe. While part of a large chase group with most of his teammates, Magnier crashed with about 35km remaining. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) also went down in the same incident and abandoned the race.
Magnier, who had secured the red points jersey, was immediately taken to the hospital in Ipswich for a series of investigations.
Since joining Soudal-QuickStep this year, Magnier has claimed victories at the Tour of Oman and the Trofeo Ses Salines - Felanitx. He also added two stage wins at Under-23 events, securing triumphs at both the Course de la Paix and the Giro Next Gen.
