It's no longer a surprise nowadays: Paul Magnier who delivers a sprint victory. On Thursday, it happened again in the Gree-Tour of Guangxi. The 21-year-old Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step notched his seventeenth win of the season. Only one rider outperforms Magnier: Tadej Pogacar.
The cycling season is truly winding down now, but racing continues in various regions and even continents. Part of the WorldTour peloton is currently in China for the Gree-Tour of Guangxi. For the time being, we can dub this race the 'big Paul Magnier show.'
The French sprint sensation has been nearly unbeatable in recent weeks when it comes to sprint finishes and in Guangxi he so far leaves just the crumbs for his rivals. The second-year pro already won the first two sprint stages and today sprinted to a genuine hattrick. This puts Magnier’s tally at seventeen victories in 2025.
The Frenchman now stands second in the win rankings, because with his third consecutive win in the Gree-Tour of Guangxi he moves ahead of his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Tim Merlier and Isaac Del Toro (both with sixteen wins this season). The Belgian and Mexican were also successful this week: Merlier won Wednesday’s first sprint stage in the NIBC Tour of Holland, while Del Toro was strongest in the Giro del Veneto.
Magnier normally still has two sprint chances left in Guangxi - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Challenging, but also an impossible task?
Merlier and Magnier may not be finished yet, as they can still add a few more victories and on paper even match Pogacar’s twenty wins, but that prospect doesn’t seem very likely. Magnier can still look forward to two (potential) sprint stages in the coming days, but the penultimate stage of the Tour of Guangxi finishes after a final climb of 3.2 kilometers at 7.4%. Whether he can survive this is uncertain.
Merlier faces perhaps an even tougher task, as the remaining stages of the NIBC Tour of Holland are not exactly tailored for sprinters. After Thursday’s time trial, there are three tricky stages to Watersley, the VAM mountain, and Arnhem, although the fast men are not without chances in these stages either. Del Toro will in any case no longer dethrone his teammate Pogacar as king of wins: the Mexican is no longer racing UCI events this season.
| Rank | Rider | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tadej Pogačar | 20 |
| 2 |  Paul Magnier | 19 |
| 3 |  Isaac Del Toro Romero | 18 |
| 4 |  Tim Merlier | 16 |
| 5 |  Mads Pedersen | 14 |
| 6 |  Matthew Brennan | 12 |
| 7 |  Olav Kooij | 11 |
| 8 |  João Almeida | 10 |
| 9 |  Jonathan Milan | 9 |
| 9 | Alexander Salby | 9 |
