The 2026 Tour of Guangxi begins on Tuesday 13 October with a 149.4km opening stage starting and finishing in Chongzuo, with the race due to roll out at approximately 03:34 BST.
For UK viewers, the early start means most of the stage will take place before the live television window begins. TNT Sports 1 is scheduled to join the race at 05:30 BST, with the same coverage available to stream through HBO Max. The finish is expected at around 07:00 BST.
Stage 1 is the first race day of the final men’s UCI WorldTour stage race of 2026. The new Chongzuo circuit replaces the coastal opening stages used in recent editions and should give the sprinters their first chance to take the red leader’s jersey.
Tour of Guangxi 2026 Stage 1 start time and viewing details
- Date: Tuesday 13 October 2026
- Route: Chongzuo to Chongzuo
- Distance: 149.4km
- Race start: approximately 10:34 local time / 03:34 BST
- UK TV coverage: TNT Sports 1 from 05:30 BST
- UK streaming: HBO Max
- Expected finish: approximately 07:00 BST
The stage start is significantly earlier than the television broadcast, so viewers joining at 05:30 BST should expect the breakaway to be established and the race already well into the second half of the route.
Our Tour of Guangxi 2026 TV guide covers the wider UK broadcast picture across all six stages, while the full Tour of Guangxi start list has the complete field.
How to watch Tour of Guangxi Stage 1 in the UK
TNT Sports 1 is the main linear channel for the opening stage, with coverage scheduled from 05:30 BST. Online viewers can use HBO Max, which now carries TNT Sports cycling coverage in the UK following the move away from discovery+.
The most useful time to tune in is therefore just before 05:30 BST. That should leave roughly 90 minutes of live racing, enough to see the final chase, the positioning battle into Chongzuo and the expected sprint finish.
If the stage is running faster than schedule, the decisive kilometres could arrive before 07:00 BST. Waiting until after 06:30 would risk missing much of the final lead-out, so the television start remains the safest point to join.
Stage 1 should favour the sprinters
The opening Chongzuo stage contains only around 750 metres of climbing and finishes on flat roads, making a bunch sprint the most likely outcome. The terrain should be manageable for the pure sprinters unless the race becomes unusually aggressive or crosswinds create splits.
Paul Magnier returns after dominating the sprint stages here in 2025 and starts as one of the clearest favourites for the opener. Olav Kooij, Kaden Groves and Jordi Meeus give the race several other proven WorldTour sprinters, while the opening day should also show which teams have brought the strongest lead-out trains to China.
The first leader’s jersey adds another incentive. There is no established general classification order yet, so the stage winner will almost certainly leave Chongzuo in red unless bonus seconds or an unexpected split change the picture.
What to expect when coverage begins
By 05:30 BST, the race should already be more than halfway through the 149.4km course. The early break may still be ahead, but the sprint teams are likely to have begun reducing the gap before the final approach to Chongzuo.
The most useful thing to watch will be which teams are prepared to take responsibility. Soudal Quick-Step have an obvious reason to work for Magnier, while Decathlon CMA CGM, Alpecin-Premier Tech and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe all have fast finishers capable of challenging if their lead-outs are intact.
The opening stage is not expected to create meaningful GC gaps for riders such as Tom Pidcock, Jarno Widar, Kévin Vauquelin or Juan Ayuso. Their priority should be to stay out of trouble before the race moves into progressively harder terrain later in the week.
The Tour of Guangxi 2026 route guide shows how the race becomes more selective after Chongzuo, while the GC contenders preview looks at the riders expected to matter once the climbing becomes more serious.
When should UK viewers tune in?
For the full television window, start watching at 05:30 BST. The race itself begins at approximately 03:34 BST, but the opening two hours are not scheduled for live UK television.
If you only want the sprint finale, 06:15 BST should still leave a useful margin. The expected finish is around 07:00 BST, but stage speed can move that estimate in either direction.
The practical viewing window is therefore 05:30 to 07:00 BST, with the first Tour of Guangxi leader of 2026 expected to be decided in the Chongzuo sprint.
