Tour of Guangxi 2025: Magnier continues to win, but Meeus closes in on him
Sebastian Lindner
· 16.10.2025
While Magnier was able to celebrate much earlier last time, this time he had to keep going until the finish line in Bama after 214 kilometres to celebrate his next victory. Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) also returned to the podium in third place. Magnier also remains untouchable in the overall standings for the time being. Kanter and Meeus are second and third, 20 seconds behind respectively - all as a result of bonuses.
"It was an early start and a long day, but we were all motivated to give our best. We worked hard the whole stage and it's nice to be rewarded with another stage win here in China," said Magnier in a statement from his team after his 17th win of the season, adding: "I'm happy with this success and to have kept the red jersey, but I'm not thinking about the overall classification. Our plan is to continue to take one day at a time and make the most of every opportunity."
On what was by far the longest stage of the tour, only the mountain jersey changed hands. Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), French like Magnier, took over the jersey after another day in the breakaway. The 28-year-old is now the unavoidable demise of his team is looking for a contract and is using the last opportunities of the year to present itself.
Tour of Guangxi - Results stage 3
Stage 3: Jingxi - Bama
Tour of Guangxi 2025: Stage 3, Jingxi - Bama
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soudal Quick-Step | 04:50:06 |
| 2 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Cofidis | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Bahrain - Victorious | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | Israel - Premier Tech | +00:00:00 |
How the 3rd stage of the Tour of Guangxi 2025 went
As on the previous day, the battle for the group of the day was exciting. Right from the start, the Dane Peter Øxenberg (INEOS Grenadiers) tried to go on the offensive. However, the man in the mountain jersey failed with several attempts over the first 20 kilometres. Attacks by other pros were also initially unsuccessful. It took another 30 kilometres before five men were finally able to break away. In addition to Ryan Mullen (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), who dropped back into the peloton a short time later, these were Ryan Gibbons (Lidl - Trek), Liam Slock (Lotto), Zhen Li (China Anta - Mentech Cycling Team) and Guglielmi.
The group was only allowed a lead of just over a minute. At the first mountain classification (2nd category) 60 kilometres before the finish, Guglielmi secured the maximum eight points, while the Chinese rider was left behind. On the second climb of the day (3rd category) with 34 kilometres to go, Slock also had to let go. Gibbons grabbed three points, while Guglielmi had to make do with two. After that, the Frenchman was also caught, while Gibbons, who is ending his career with the season, put in a short solo before it was over for him 20 kilometres before the finish.
Astana led the peloton over the remaining climb (3rd category) shortly before the ten kilometre mark and kept everything together. Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) wanted to use a mini wave 3000 metres before the end for one last attempt, but he was dropped 700 metres before the finish. Because the late eddy meant that the race was not quite straightforward and Magnier didn't have his usual band of helpers around him, the final was a little tighter than the last. But the winner was ultimately the same.
