Another step closer to Pogacar: Magnier continues his incredible form with a new victory in the Tour of Guangxi

On day one, it was Magnier who continued his excellent form with yet another victory this fall. However, it was the massive crash deep in the final that stood out the most. It meant that Simone Consonni (Lidl-Trek) and Gianluca Pollefliet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) would not be able to start stage two.

That second stage had a somewhat atypical profile. From the start in Chongzuo, the riders would be launched on a 178.9-kilometer ride in a northwesterly direction. The first 140 kilometers were virtually flat, followed by a 7.7-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 4.2%. Once at the top, there would be a plateau until the finish in Jingxi.

Initially, it was Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ), and Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) who broke away. Still, the four were soon joined by INEOS youngster Peter Øxenberg and EF veteran Michael Valgren.

The peloton was okay with this, but with that climb in mind, the pack decided not to give the six riders too much space. As a result, the gap never exceeded two minutes throughout the entire stage, which somewhat spoiled the plans of several teams on the climb. It was therefore not entirely surprising that UAE pushed hard on the first sections.

This quickly reduced the gap to the front. Frenchman Guglielmi was the first victim of the early breakaway, followed by Valgren and Geniets. This left three riders at the front, with the peloton picking up the pace behind them.

At the front, Van den Broek, Øxenberg, and Dewulf survived the climb, although the peloton was only half a minute behind at the top. Ewen Costiou tried to make the crossing on behalf of Arkéa-B&B Hotels on the final uphill sections, but the young Frenchman failed. The pace set by Julius Johansen on behalf of UAE in the peloton was high.

With fifteen kilometers to go, the trio still had a twenty-second lead. Four kilometers later, Øxenberg decided that wasn't enough, so the nineteen-year-old Dane decided to wait for the peloton. However, two riders from the Low Countries refused to give up and kept up the pace.

Nevertheless, Van den Broek and Dewulf were unable to prevent a sprint. With seven kilometers to go, the Dutchman's adventure was over, after which Dewulf was also caught. This allowed the peloton to prepare for the sprint in time, but Jhonatan Narváez had other plans. The UAE rider sprinted away with five kilometers to go.

It was a good move, but the peloton reacted immediately. As a result, Narváez did not get away from the pack, and it turned into a ‘normal’ sprint. Everyone was waiting for Magnier's red leader's jersey, and it came out on time again on Wednesday. And how. The Frenchman left everyone behind and won for the sixteenth time this year. This brings him closer to Tadej Pogacar, who has won twenty times this year.