After his opening victory, Magnier has now notched up nine wins in the last 30 days, completely dominating the Tour of Slovakia and the CRO Race with only one mass sprint not being victorious. It was the 15th win of the season for the 21-year-old, who was more successful at his age than Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar or Peter Sagan in the same period. Kanter, on the other hand, had to settle for second place for the third time in the last three weeks and was stopped by another top sprinter in Magnier, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto).
The fact that only ten riders ultimately took part in the bunch sprint was due to a crash around 500 metres before the finish relatively far forward in the peloton. UAE pro Rui Oliveira lost control of his bike, depriving Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain - Victorious) and others of the chance to take part in the final of Fangchenggang after 151 kilometres.
"I'm over the moon about my 15th win of the season," said Magnier at the finish. "It was the first time I had sprinted on such a big and wide road and I was nervous in the last few kilometres. I didn't know if I would find my way, but my team-mates did a fantastic job in the last 200 metres."
The next few days will be somewhat more profiled, but should also end in a bunch sprint - with the exception of stage 5 with a mountain finish. At least that's how it went last year. The complete 2025 route is identical to the last edition.
Tour of Guangxi - Results stage 1
Stage 1: Fangchenggang - Fangchenggang
Tour of Guangxi 2025: Stage 1, Fangchenggang - Fangchenggang
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soudal Quick-Step | 03:19:37 |
| 2 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Israel - Premier Tech | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | Movistar Team | +00:00:00 |
How the 1st stage of the Tour of Guangxi 2025 went
Four laps around Fangchenggang were therefore on the agenda. And right from the start, the battle for the breakaway group was fierce. After several unsuccessful attempts, it was Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Rémy Rochas (Groupama - FDJ) and Julius Johansen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) who were able to put a few seconds between themselves and the peloton. The two French riders put their legs up after the first intermediate sprint and waited for the peloton.
Later it was Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) and Attila Valter (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) who took over the job of the breakaway. The duo made it to 22 kilometres before the finish, but were then caught by the pace work of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Jayco-AlUla. Except for the last few kilometres, the pros took it a little easier, but there were no further attacks.
However, the crash in the final put a spanner in the works for some teams. Jayco's work for Max Walscheid, who also crashed, did not pay off. Picnic PostNL also missed out with Pavel Bittner. Simone Consonni from Lidl - Trek and Arne Marit (Intermarché - Wanty) were also unable to keep up.
