Paul Magnier (Soudal QuickStep) wins the first stage of the Guangxi Tour, starting and finishing 149.4 km in Fangchenggang.

After a chaotic start to the race, with 40 men gaining an advantage, the race stabilized and Le Berre and Valter went on the attack.

Le Berre, the last to give up, was caught with 22 km to go, with the peloton proceeding at a slow pace, preparing for a compact sprint. The peloton only accelerated with 3 km to go, spurred on by Groupama and Team PicNic.

At 500 meters, a nasty crash, triggered by a UAE rider, split the peloton, with only a handful of riders avoiding the incident. Magnier excelled in escaping unscathed and equally brilliantly launched the sprint at the right moment, thus winning the first stage. Second place went to Kanter, third to Meuus.

ORDER OF ARRIVAL

1 MAGNIER Paul Soudal Quick-Step 3:19:37

2 KANTER Max XDS Astana Team ,,

3 MEEUS Jordi Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe ,,

4 PEDERSEN Rasmus Søjberg Decathlon AG2R The World Team ,,

5 KOGUT Oded Israel - Premier Tech,,

6 GAVIRIA Fernando Movistar Team ,,

7 ANIOŁKOWSKI Stanisław Cofidis ,,

8 POLLEFLIET Gianluca Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team ,,

9 LOZOUET Léandre Arkéa - B&B Hotels ,,

10 VAN GESTEL Dries Soudal Quick-Step ,,