Magnier crashes hard at the Tour of Guangx; Fretin wins his second stage

Four stages, four sprint opportunities. The Tour of Guangxi is normally a sprinter’s paradise, but even the challenging fourth stage ultimately turned out to be one for the fast men. And yes, it was Paul Magnier who won again. The Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step claimed his second victory of the week and stripped Frits Biesterbos (Picnic PostNL) of the leader’s jersey.

The climbers would definitely get their chance, but not on Saturday. Although the stage included 2,300 meters of climbing, most of the climbs came early in the course. With a flat—and even slightly downhill—final fifty kilometers, everyone knew a sprint would be hard to avoid.

That didn't mean the early breakaway riders wouldn't give it a try. After a fairly aggressive opening phase, Jasha Sütterlin and Patrick Gamper (both Jayco AlUla) were joined by Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché), Davide Formolo (Movistar), and Brandon Rivera (Netcompany INEOS). With 100 kilometers to go, they were also joined by Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost).

There were certainly some strong riders at the front, but the sprinters weren’t about to let their last chance of the season slip away. We saw Decathlon CMA CGM leading the way for Olav Kooij, Soudal Quick-Step for Magnier, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG for Juan Sebastian Molano. Together, they ensured that the breakaway riders were caught with about fifteen kilometers to go.

In the final stretch, Visma | Lease a Bike once again made its presence felt, led by Fabio Jakobsen. They took control with five kilometers to go, but lost some of their grip in the final kilometer. Jakobsen then held his position at the front, where a crash by Magnier saw his chances vanish: Biesterbos also had no chance, but miraculously stayed on his bike. Arvid de Kleijn was the first to launch his sprint, but it was once again Milan Fretin who proved to be the best.