Paul Double has claimed victory in the queen stage of the Tour of Guangxi. The British rider from Team Jayco AlUla was the strongest on the final climb to Nongla and takes over the leader's jersey from Paul Magnier, who lost several minutes.
The penultimate stage of the Gree Tour of Guangxi may not have featured the most elevation gain, but it was the stage where the general classification was decided. The finish was on the climb to Nongla (3.2 kilometers at 7.2%), where the GC had been decided in previous editions.
A breakaway of four controlled the race on Saturday in Guangxi. Tom Paquot, Ryan Gibbons, Mathias Norsgaard, and Haoyu Su ensured there was still action on the road but would be reeled in on the final climb.
Early attack by Double secures British win
On the final climb, we saw an early attack from Mikkel Frolich Honoré, Ben Zwiehoff, and Double. It turned out to be the decisive move: within just a few hundred meters, the riders gained over ten seconds on the peloton, allowing them to contest the finish among themselves.
In the last kilometer, Double broke away from Honoré to claim a clear solo victory. From behind, Paul Lafay, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Jørgen Nordhagen, and Jhonatan Narvaez chased hard, but they arrived too late.
Gree-Tour of Guangxi| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:41:38 | |
| 2 | + 09 | |
| 3 | + 11 | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | + 18 | |
| 8 | + 19 | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
