2025 COTTI COFFEE UCI WorldTour Tour of Guangxi – Stage 2｜Paul Magnier Claims Back-to-Back Victories

On October 15, Stage 2 of the 2025 COTTI COFFEE UCI WorldTour Tour of Guangxi (hereafter referred to as the Tour of Guangxi) unfolded with a thrilling contest from Chongzuo to Jingxi. Yesterday’s stage winner, Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step, maintained his stellar form and clinched another victory in a fierce sprint finish in front of the Jinxiu Ancient Town!

The route of Stage 2 transitioned from coastal scenery to mountainous terrain, starting at the Jiuniu Climbing Square in Chongzuo—known for its “Chinese border charm”—and heading toward Jingxi in Baise, famed as the “border city of mountains and rivers.” Due to natural disasters, the race distance was slightly shortened from 179.6 km to 179 km, with the start and finish points unchanged. Two intermediate sprints were set at 94.5 km and 167.3 km, and the only Category 2 climb was located at the 150 km mark, featuring a total elevation gain of 336 meters and an average gradient of 3.6%.

The race officially began at 10:50 AM with 136 riders taking part. Shortly after the start, breakaway attempts emerged. Kévin Geniets(Groupama-FDJ) successfully broke away from the peloton, followed by several riders joining the Luxembourgish rider: Simon Guglielmi(Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost), Peter Øxenberg(INEOS Grenadiers), and Frank van den Broek (Team Team Picnic-PostNL).

With relatively flat terrain in the first half, the peloton maintained a steady pace and kept the breakaway group within a 1 minute 30 second gap. Teams like Soudal Quick-Step and XDS-Astana—yesterday’s top finishers—took turns leading the chase.

Rain began to fall with 105 km remaining, slowing the breakaway group and narrowing the gap to just one minute. As the race approached Jingxi, the classic hilly landscape of the Tour of Guangxi reappeared, with riders navigating winding roads. The six breakaway riders reached the first intermediate sprint at 94.5 km, where Stan Dewulf of Decathlon AG2R claimed top honors.

As the riders neared the only Category 2 climb, attacks from the peloton intensified but failed to close the gap. The time difference remained around one minute. Just before the climb, the peloton accelerated, and Peter Øxenberg of INEOS Grenadiers took the KOM points at the summit.

The second intermediate sprint saw fierce competition, with Øxenberg again taking first, followed by Dewulf and van den Broek.

With 5 km to go, the breakaway was reeled in by the peloton. Jhonatan Narváez of UAE Team Emirates-XRG launched a surprise attack but was quickly caught. Sprint teams then took control, with Team Team Picnic-PostNL, EF Education-EasyPost, Jayco-AlUla, and Soudal Quick-Step moving to the front.

Ultimately, Paul Magnier (#122, Soudal Quick-Step) showcased his exceptional sprinting prowess to seize another stage win. Pavel Bittner (Team Picnic-PostNL) finished second, and Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis) took third.

In the overall standings, Magnier continues to lead and dons the COTTI COFFEE red jersey. He also holds the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Bank blue jersey for sprint points and the Li-Ning white jersey for best young rider. Peter Øxenberg (#73, INEOS Grenadiers) leads the KOM classification and wears the Ganten polka dot jersey, while Stan Dewulf (#42, Decathlon AG2R) was awarded the Most Combative Rider of the stage.

Magnier expressed his joy after the race: 

“This is my 16th professional victory for this season, and I’m thrilled. The team positioned me perfectly for the final sprint—this win is a testament to our collective strength!”

Tomorrow’s Stage 3 of the 2025 COTTI COFFEE UCI WorldTour Tour of Guangxi will run from Jingxi to Bama, covering a total of 213.5 km—the longest stage of this year’s race. It features one Category 2 and two Category 3 climbs, all concentrated in the final 60 km. Expect an intense battle among the contenders. Stay tuned!