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October 13, 2023
Tour of Guangxi 2023 – Stage 2 🇨🇳 – Beihai – Qinzhou : 149,6 km
Following a four-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gree Tour of Guangxi returns this year to bookend the men’s WorldTour calendar.
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October 13, 2023
Tour of Guangxi 2023 – Stage 2 🇨🇳 – Beihai – Qinzhou : 149,6 km
Following a four-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gree Tour of Guangxi returns this year to bookend the men’s WorldTour calendar. The six-day race takes place in the autonomous region of Guangxi in southern China, typically attracting sprinters and punchier all-rounders. The race visits the main cities of the Guangxi region, such as Nanning, Beihai and Guilin, during its hilly route. Without any big climbers, the general classification is usually fairly open and can suit a wide range of riders. What’s key is being aggressive and taking time on the stages where the road does go uphill.
Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) hit the front early on the second stage of the Tour of Guangxi, just like on the opening day, but this time the Bahrain-Victorious stomped determinedly on the pedals to hold off all challengers right to the line so he could celebrate a clear cut victory in Qinzhou.
There was a clear margin to the rest of the field spread out in pursuit of the rider, who claimed the runner-up spot on day 1 but wasn’t about to let himself be caught before the line again.
“Yesterday I went from a bit too far out, today I went from the right spot,” said Milan. “You have to learn from your mistakes. The lads set me up exceptionally well, I just had to sprint in the last metres.”
This time it was Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor) who had to settle for the second spot on the podium while Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) slotted into third.
Milan, who had started the day in second place overall, overtook stage 1 winner Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) in the general classification after his victory and it was clear just how much that win meant by the enthusiasm of his celebration.
“I wanted to finish well with this team,” said Milan, who has spent three years with Bahrain-Victorious but is shifting to Lidl-Trek in 2024. “From a mental point of view, it’s important to get this win. I was tired after the Worlds, so I took a break. Then I was able to train well and train in a calm way, and I was able to find some decent condition for the end of the season.”
The 149.6km may have ended up with the expected battle for the sprinters, but there were moments of doubt in the final kilometres as just when the final duo from a long escape were about to be reeled in, an attack leapt out of the field leaving ten riders out the front, including Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), Zdeněk Stybar (Jayco-AlUla) and George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates) at just under 8km to go.
The gap stretched but ultimately there was no spoiling the sprinters day, with the field all pulled back together at 3km to go.
HOW IT UNFOLDED
There was a rapid start to stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi as the peloton left Beihai and set out for the oyster and turtle farming centre of Qinzhou. Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) began the day third overall thanks to the bonus seconds he picked up in the break on stage 1, and the Belgian was eager to repeat the feat here with an eye to moving into the red jersey of race leader.
De Bondt was duly aboard when the break went clear inside the opening 10km, with Julius Johansen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jens Reynders (Israel Premier Tech) and Thomas Champion (Cofidis) joining him off the front. The quartet quickly struck up a common cause, and their advantage would yawn out to three minutes by the time they hit the 30km mark.
Ineos policed affairs in the peloton on behalf of leader Elia Viviani and as the afternoon progressed, the coalition of sprinters’ teams working at the head of the race gradually began to grow. Steven Kruijswijk put in a notable shift in the service of Jumbo-Visma teammate Olav Kooij and the break’s buffer steadily shrank once the race hit the wide boulevards of the finishing circuit in Qinzhou.
By that point, De Bondt had won the first bonus sprint and moved to within a second of Viviani’s overall lead. Ineos increased the pace on the approach to the second sprint with 19km remaining, mindful of the threat posed by De Bondt, but they fell short of bringing back the escapees. De Bondt duly picked off three more bonus seconds to move into the virtual lead before he dropped back to the bunch.
Reynders and Johansen tried gamely to fend off the chasers a little longer, and with eight kilometres to go it looked like they would duly be reeled in for another clear-cut sprint on the wide open roads. Then, however a group of around ten including Thomas De Gendt formed at the front to try and ruin the sprinters day, and Shane Archobold also made a flying effort out the front in the final race of his career. However by 3km to go it was all back together again and the inevitable sprint finish played out on the Qinzhou circuit.
Results :
 hit the front early on the second stage of the Tour of Guangxi, just like on the opening day, but this time the Bahrain-Victorious stomped determinedly on the pedals to hold off all challengers right to the line so he could celebrate a clear cut victory in Qinzhou.
There was a clear margin to the rest of the field spread out in pursuit of the rider, who claimed the runner-up spot on day 1 but wasn't about to let himself be caught before the line again.
“Yesterday I went from a bit too far out, today I went from the right spot," said Milan. "You have to learn from your mistakes. The lads set me up exceptionally well, I just had to sprint in the last metres."
This time it was Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor) who had to settle for the second spot on the podium while Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) slotted into third.
Milan, who had started the day in second place overall, overtook stage 1 winner Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) in the general classification after his victory and it was clear just how much that win meant by the enthusiasm of his celebration.
"I wanted to finish well with this team," said Milan, who has spent three years with Bahrain-Victorious but is shifting to Lidl-Trek in 2024. "From a mental point of view, it’s important to get this win. I was tired after the Worlds, so I took a break. Then I was able to train well and train in a calm way, and I was able to find some decent condition for the end of the season.”
The 149.6km may have ended up with the expected battle for the sprinters, but there were moments of doubt in the final kilometres as just when the final duo from a long escape were about to be reeled in, an attack leapt out of the field leaving ten riders out the front, including Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), Zdeněk Stybar (Jayco-AlUla) and George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates) at just under 8km to go.
The gap stretched but ultimately there was no spoiling the sprinters day, with the field all pulled back together at 3km to go.
<strong>HOW IT UNFOLDED</strong>
There was a rapid start to stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi as the peloton left Beihai and set out for the oyster and turtle farming centre of Qinzhou. Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) began the day third overall thanks to the bonus seconds he picked up in the break on stage 1, and the Belgian was eager to repeat the feat here with an eye to moving into the red jersey of race leader.
De Bondt was duly aboard when the break went clear inside the opening 10km, with Julius Johansen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jens Reynders (Israel Premier Tech) and Thomas Champion (Cofidis) joining him off the front. The quartet quickly struck up a common cause, and their advantage would yawn out to three minutes by the time they hit the 30km mark.
Ineos policed affairs in the peloton on behalf of leader Elia Viviani and as the afternoon progressed, the coalition of sprinters’ teams working at the head of the race gradually began to grow. Steven Kruijswijk put in a notable shift in the service of Jumbo-Visma teammate Olav Kooij and the break’s buffer steadily shrank once the race hit the wide boulevards of the finishing circuit in Qinzhou.
By that point, De Bondt had won the first bonus sprint and moved to within a second of Viviani’s overall lead. Ineos increased the pace on the approach to the second sprint with 19km remaining, mindful of the threat posed by De Bondt, but they fell short of bringing back the escapees. De Bondt duly picked off three more bonus seconds to move into the virtual lead before he dropped back to the bunch.
Reynders and Johansen tried gamely to fend off the chasers a little longer, and with eight kilometres to go it looked like they would duly be reeled in for another clear-cut sprint on the wide open roads. Then, however a group of around ten including Thomas De Gendt formed at the front to try and ruin the sprinters day, and Shane Archobold also made a flying effort out the front in the final race of his career. However by 3km to go it was all back together again and the inevitable sprint finish played out on the Qinzhou circuit.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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