Photo via Cyclingnews

Tour of Guangxi: Paul Magnier scorches to victory on stage 1 to make it six wins from past seven stages of the WorldTour race in China

Paul Magnier delivered a dominant performance on the opening stage of the Tour of Guangxi, securing his sixth stage win in the past seven editions of the WorldTour race in China. The French rider outpaced sprint rivals on a chaotic finish in Chongzuo, edging out Olav Kooij—despite Decathlon CMA CGM’s strong lead-out—while also beating Sam Welsford and Max Kanter for second and third.

Magnier’s victory ties him with Fernando Gaviria for the most stage wins in the race’s history, extending his streak from last year’s edition, where he won every stage except the queen stage. He now leads the general classification by four seconds over Welsford, with Fredrik Dversnes holding third after gaining time in the intermediate sprint from an early breakaway that included Neilson Powless and Patrick Gamper.

The race continues Wednesday with a 179.7km stage to Jingxi, featuring a punchy finale that could favor climbers like Tom Pidcock.

The stage results saw Magnier cross the line in 3 hours, 0 minutes, and 23 seconds, with Welsford and Kanter rounding out the podium. The top 20 included a mix of sprinters and breakaway survivors, with riders like Matteo Milan, Erlend Blikra, and Luke Lamperti also making strong finishes.

The early breakaway, which included Powless and Gamper, was absorbed just 10km from the finish, setting up the chaotic sprint that Magnier capitalized on decisively.

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