Tour of Guangxi: Magnier is chasing another sprint festival, Pidcock the overall victory

​The WorldTour season also draws to a close in China for the men. The Tour of Guangxi runs from 13 to 18 October over six stages, just three days after the Tour of Lombardy. Last year, Paul Magnier really made a name for himself here for the first time: he won five of the six stages, only having to concede defeat on the mountain stage to Nongla. Given the topography of the stages, there are therefore two key contests here: firstly, who will claim the sprint title, and secondly, the overall victory.

Only the opening stage of the Tour of Guangxi is flat

The route has changed significantly this year. The race starts in Chongzuo for the first time and covers a total of 1,043 kilometres. Only the first stage is flat: a 149.4-kilometre circuit in Chongzuo. After that, the route continues to be undulating throughout: the 179.7-kilometre stage from Chongzuo to Jingxi is followed by the longest stage of the race, covering 212.3 kilometres from Jingxi to Bama. The stages to Tian’e (165.7 km) and from Jinchengjiang to Yizhou (170.1 km) are new and take the riders deep into the karst hinterland.

The finale of the Tour of Guangxi is a real challenge: the final stage from Yizhou to Nongla (165.8 km) ends with a mountain finish. The final climb is around 3.1 kilometres long, has an average gradient of 6.3 per cent and includes sections with gradients of around ten per cent. In 2025, Double attacked there on the fifth stage, won by a margin of nine seconds and secured the overall victory the following day. This year, there’s no ‘after that’ – the race will be decided on the final stage.

Magnier v Kooij, Meeus and Kanter

For the sprinters, the general classification is of secondary importance; they are chasing stage wins. Paul Magnier is back in his team’s line-up and could repeat his feat from last year. Five stage wins is a real challenge, but the Frenchman certainly has what it takes. He faces competition from Olav Kooij, Jordi Meeus, Max Kanter, Juan Sebastián Molano and Milan Fretin. In a classic sprint, however, only Kooij, Kanter or Meeus are likely to pose a threat to the Frenchman.

As most of the stages are undulating rather than flat, strong breakaway groups could well have a chance this time round. With riders such as Tom Pidcock in the line-up, the race also takes on a new dynamic. It therefore remains to be seen whether there will be as many sprint finishes as there were last year.

Overall victory in the Tour of Guangxi

Last year’s winner, Paul Double, is back in the running. However, with Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock, Jarno Widar and Kévin Vauquelin in the field, defending his title is likely to be a tough task. Pidcock probably has the best chance. He is in very good form following his seventh-place finish at the World Championships. His victory at the Mountain Bike World Championships in the XCO seems to have given him a real boost as the season draws to a close.

German hopes

From a German perspective, too, there are two strong contenders. Emil Herzog put in a strong performance at the European Championships in Slovenia recently, but at 22 years of age he still has to prove himself in the professional peloton. Marco Brenner won this year’s Tour of Poland and is also among the wider circle of favourites.