2025 COTTI COFFEE UCI WorldTour Tour of Guangxi Stage 5｜Paul Double Dominates the Queen Stage, Su Haoyu Shines in Breakaway Effort

October 18 saw the showdown of the 2025 COTTI COFFEE UCI WorldTour Tour of Guangxi’s Queen Stage—Stage 5 from Yizhou to Nongla. Known for its decisive climbs and punishing gradients, this stage often determines the general classification (GC). Paul Double (Team Jayco-AIUIa) delivered a commanding solo victory on the final ascent, claiming both the stage win and the red jersey as GC leader.

The 165.8 km route featured two intermediate sprints and two categorized climbs. After a flat opening 110 km, riders faced a Category 3 climb at 117.1 km, followed by a Category 1 ascent near the finish. The final 1.2 km to the line was a brutal wall averaging 14.8%—a true test of climbing prowess.

The race officially started at 11:25 AM following a ceremonial send-off in Yizhou. The peloton passed through Laibin before heading into the mountainous terrain of Nongla, a scenic karst region that has become a hallmark Queen Stage finish.

A five-man breakaway formed early, featuring Su Haoyu (XDS Astana Team), Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Tom Paquot (INEOS Grenadiers), Ryan Gibbons (Lidl-Trek), and Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar Team). Su Haoyu impressed throughout, taking top spots in both intermediate sprints and the first KOM, and was the last rider caught—just 3 km from the finish—after a 160 km effort.

In the final kilometers, Double launched a solo attack past the Nongla archway. Despite a strong chase from Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Double held firm to take the win. Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R) and Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) completed the podium.

Double now leads the GC and wears the red jersey. Paul Magnier retained the blue jersey for points classification, Guglielmi kept the polka-dot jersey as King of the Mountains, and Jørgen Nordhagen (Team Visma｜Lease a Bike) continues in white as best young rider. Su Haoyu earned the Combativity Award for his relentless breakaway.

Post-race, Double said: “It was a brutal climb, and I’m thrilled to take the win.” Su Haoyu added: “I followed our sports director’s advice to go for the breakaway from the start. I scored in sprints and climbs, and was the last one caught. This Combativity Award means even more than the one I won last time in Guangxi.”

Stage 6 wraps up the race tomorrow with the Nanning City Circuit: five laps of a 27.3 km loop totaling 133.1 km, featuring a short but steep climb on Qingxiu Mountain (1.4 km at 11.7%)—a final challenge before the curtain falls.