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Follow us on GooglePaul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) won the fourth stage of the Chinese WorldTour race, the Tour of Guangxi, on Friday. The Frenchman won the sprint and thus took the overall lead from Frits Biesterbos of Picnic PostNL. The final stretch was marred by a major crash.
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Teams jostled for position during the day's racing
With Biesterbos in the leader’s jersey, the peloton set off for Day Four of the Tour of Guangxi. After three stages suited for sprinters, this was the first opportunity for the more climbing-oriented riders, particularly due to a section in the middle of the course featuring significant elevation gain.
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Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM, who had already dropped out of the sprint the day before) and Ouwain Doull (Visma | Lease a Bike) did not start the stage, in which Picnic PostNL took the lead.
Along the way, teams such as Pinarello-Q36.5, Lidl-Trek, and EF Education-EasyPost took the lead, but the stage wasn't tough enough for the general classification favorites either.
Read more below the photo!
Olav Kooij did not start the race.
A sprint in China after all
With 25 kilometers to go, Louis Barré (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Kévin Vauquelin (Netcompany INEOS) launched an attack, but they were also unable to break away. Movistar also tried with several riders, although Soudal Quick-Step attempted to control the race in support of Paul Magnier.
Watch the footage below to see the final 5 kilometres.
Read more below the video!
Watch the last 5 kilometres here
The Frenchman survived the climbs and still wanted to let it come down to a sprint.
Race leader Biesterbos also tackled the climbs. The Dutch rider once again joined the battle for the sprint, although he was quite far back as the race entered the final kilometer. In the final turn, we saw another massive crash.
With Kooij absent, Decathlon CMA-CGM backed Cees Bol, but in the end it was Magnier who claimed the victory and also took the lead from Biesterbos. The Dutchman finished fourth.
Results of Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour of Guangxi
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- A self-promoting billboard for the psychologically insecure Evenpoel, who should do as much work on his psyche as he does on his road training. It seems as if he's always looking for and desperately needing acclaim and external validation, and often miserable, as well as argumentative and accusatory unless he wins the race. And even when he does cross the finish line ahead of the pack, he seems to experience relief. more than joy. It's as if he can't win, even when he finishes first, because there's always a trap door, always someone there who will say, 'Not good enough,' or, 'But can you do it again?'rjb15-10-2026
- How does a team actually get a wildcard for a Grand Tour? Is it mainly based on ranking, or do organisers have more choice? I’m still trying to get my head around how the divisions work.andrewf15-10-2026
- The points gap to the top 18 is huge, so Picnic PostNL’s licence situation sounds precarious. Still, the allegations about conditions within the team deserve proper scrutiny, not just transfer-window speculation.cadencekingm15-10-2026
- Pidcock finishing ninth at the Tour as a ProTeam rider is impressive. WorldTour status would give the squad a more settled calendar, though the obligation to start almost every WorldTour race could stretch a team that’s still building.pedalpowe2915-10-2026
- Pinarello-Q5 are making a serious case on the road, and Ciccone is a big signing. But points alone won’t tell the whole story if Picnic PostNL meet the UCI’s financial conditions.michael5415-10-2026
- The article calls the Giro the likely option, but Seixas has said the Tour is his lifetime goal. That seems a bit premature—wouldn’t the team want him back at the Tour after finishing fourth?gearguru3314-10-2026
- Five weeks between the Tour and Worlds sounds like plenty of time to recover and get ready again. I’d love to see him go for both.sprocketspiny14-10-2026
- Why does the Vuelta start just six days after the Worlds? Do riders ever compete in both, or is that turnaround generally too short?davidm14-10-2026
- He’s had an extraordinary season, but there’s no need to rush him into targeting everything at once. A gradual build towards the Tour could pay off in the long run.lindae14-10-2026
- That Worlds course sounds tailor-made for Seixas. Twenty ascents of Domancy is savage, and racing at home could make it a huge day for him.andrewf14-10-2026
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