Paul Magnier wins Tour of Guangxi 2026 Stage 1 in Chongzuo sprint

Paul Magnier opened the 2026 Tour of Guangxi with another sprint victory in Chongzuo, beating Sam Welsford and Max Kanter after a fast 149.4km first stage. The Soudal Quick-Step rider completed the stage in 3:00:23 and immediately took the race lead.

The result continued Magnier’s remarkable run in Guangxi after his dominance at the race in 2025. This time the opposition arrived with several strong sprint options, but the Frenchman again proved quickest when the race came back together for the finish.

How it unfolded

The opening stage started and finished in Chongzuo, with the 2026 Tour of Guangxi route giving the sprinters their clearest opportunity before the race moves into more broken terrain. With no major climb to force a selection, the early contest centred on forming the break and collecting bonus seconds.

Neilson Powless, Fredrik Dversnes and Patrick Gamper eventually established the main breakaway. Dversnes was particularly active at the intermediate sprints and used the move to collect time bonuses, while the sprinters’ teams kept the advantage under control behind.

The peloton never allowed the trio enough room to threaten the stage. As the race entered the closing kilometres, the gap came down steadily and the break was caught with around eight kilometres remaining. That set up the expected fight between the sprint trains, but there were still attempts to disrupt the finish.

Dries De Bondt and Rune Herregodts both tried late moves after the catch, taking advantage of the brief hesitation as the main sprint teams reorganised. Neither attack lasted, with Soudal Quick-Step and Decathlon CMA CGM among the teams ensuring the bunch arrived together for the final kilometre.

Decathlon produced one of the strongest lead-outs and put Olav Kooij into position for the sprint. The Dutchman, however, was unable to turn that work into a top-10 finish. Magnier timed his own effort better, accelerating into clear space and opening enough of a gap to hold off Welsford and Kanter at the line.

Welsford took second for Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team, while Kanter completed the podium for XDS Astana Team. Oded Kogut was fourth and Arvid de Kleijn fifth, with Matteo Milan, Erlend Blikra, Luke Lamperti, Lionel Taminiaux and Itamar Einhorn completing the top 10.

Magnier takes the first leader’s jersey

Winning Stage 1 also puts Magnier into the overall lead, although the general classification is already slightly different from the stage result because of the intermediate bonuses collected during the day. Dversnes’ work in the break means the opening GC is not simply a copy of the sprint order.

The race now heads from Chongzuo to Jingxi on Stage 2. As outlined in our Tour of Guangxi contenders preview, the second day is harder than the opener and gives the punchier teams more terrain to test the pure sprinters before the finish. Magnier has already shown in this race that he can survive more than completely flat stages, so another sprint remains possible if Soudal Quick-Step can keep the race under control.

Tour of Guangxi 2026 Stage 1 Result