The Tour of Guangxi will be back for the first time in three years and will be held from October 12th to 17th.
The total distance of the 6-stage race is 958.8km. In theory, stages 1, 2, 5, and 6 favor sprinters, but stage 3 could reduce group sprints or favor punchier classic riders. The overall victory will be contested in Stage 4, the queen stage of the 4th Tour of Guangxi, with GC participating teams attempting a mountaintop finish on their way to Masan County.
Jonathan Millan and Rainer Kepplinger will headline Team Bahrain Victorious on their tour of Guangxi. Milan will be aiming for one last sprint stage appearance at the end of the UCI World Tour season, but Kepplinger will be fighting for a chance in the general division.
In southern China, we will be joined by strong support riders. Filip Maciejuk, Cameron Scott and Dusan Lajovic will form the lead-out train, and the Serbian champion may also take a chance depending on race conditions. Ahmed Madan and Johan Preiss-Patersen will support the team on the flat sections with their TT expertise.
“Everything looks like a sprinter’s race, as there will be sprints in four stages,” said sports director Gorazd Stangeli. Then he has one hilly stage and a bunch of him could have a reduced sprint or a punchier rider could attack stage three. Stage 4 is the traditional GC day, where the GC usually decides. Also, in the previous edition in 2019, there were climbers in the top 10 because of stage 4, but all the other stages are perfect for sprinters. ”
“Thanks to Jonathan Millan, we look like we are in a good position to fight for stage wins every day. Also, other riders like Dusan Lajovic, Cameron Scott, Johan Preys-Peyterssen, Filip Maciejuk and Ahmed Madan also supports our goals well. We have a really young team there. But the players have already raced together. There may be some details that need to be taken care of, but I think I have confidence in this team.”
“We also have Rainer Kepplinger. He’s going to be in the top 10 in GC and that’s going to be a good result for us. When I was a sprinter, along with Jonathan Milan, I think it’s good to fight for wins. I’m optimistic that we’ll be in position. We don’t know the start list yet, but I’m sure a lot of good sprinters will start. It’s going to be a big show. It’s the last important race of the season for the WorldTour teams. After this consolation period, the beautiful race is back for Guangxi, and I’m happy to be able to show the team jersey to the Chinese fans again and hopefully show some good results.”