Fifteen wins in 2025. and ten (!) in just one month: Magnier can’t be stopped, even on the other side of the world
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Follow us on GooglePaul Magnier won the first stage of the Tour of Guangxi. On a local circuit around Fangchenggang, which was completed four times, he was ultimately the fastest in an expected bunch sprint after 149.4 kilometers. It was already his fifteenth (!) victory of the season, ten of which were in the last month. Magnier was also awarded the first leader's jersey. Many riders were licking their wounds in the final due to a massive crash.
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Anyone who wanted to see the start of the six-day stage race in China had to set their alarm clock early. In the middle of the night, the men set off for a not-too-long opening day. Three brave men were up for it despite the after-effects of jet lag: Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), and Julius Johansen (UAE Emirates-XRG).
The three found each other before Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Soudal-Quick Step, the teams of sprinters Jordi Meeus and Magnier controlled the peloton. Because they kept it so short, Rochas and Paret-Peintre decided that one local lap was enough. They waited for the peloton, with Johansen continuing. However, he would also be caught.
Continue reading below the photo
Red Bull and Soudal-Quick Step storm towards the bunch sprint
This was due to accelerations in the peloton, where several riders wanted to break away. It even caused a break, with Magnier on the wrong side. Soudal-Quick Step solved the problem and, together with Red Bull and Cofidis, put another man at the front. Attila Valter (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) were the new riders who broke away.
With sixty kilometers to go, the two had a good minute's lead, but Valter and Le Berre kept going and were only caught 22 kilometers from the finish. The sprinter teams got what they wanted and thundered towards a sprint in Fangchenggang. Despite all the work done by Red Bull in particular, it was Magnier who got the job done for The Wolfpack, with a hard crash in the sprint preparation.
Results stage 1 Tour of Guangxi 2025
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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