Preview, favourites, profile, route and predictions Tour of Guangxi 2025 - Skjelmose and Christen the main favourites

The Tour of Guangxi is the final World Tour event of the year and it closes out the calendar in Asia. China hosts the six-day race where there are still lots of UCI points to attribute and some meaningful victories too. We take a look at its startlist.

The Tour of Guangxi is a relatively young but increasingly important fixture on the UCI WorldTour calendar. First held in 2017, the race was launched as China’s second WorldTour event after the now-defunct Tour of Beijing. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tour of Guangxi was suspended for several years, with no editions in 2020, 2021 or 2022. It returned in 2023 and has since regained its role as the season finale of the men’s WorldTour calendar.

Over the years, the route has varied but has consistently offered opportunities for sprinters, punchers and climbers. The Chinese race has yet to see a repeat winner. Past champions include Tim Wellens, Gianni Moscon, Milan Vader and, most recently, Lennert Van Eetvelt, who claimed victory in 2024 after winning the queen stage and defending his lead on the final day.

The first stage of the race will be a small circuit around the city of Fangchenggang, a day that will have 149 kilometers in length and will crown a sprinter as the first leader of the race. There are three small climbs in the circuit where attacks could potentially happen, but it's unlikely in this race.

The second day of the Chinese race presents an interest challenge in what is an unusual stage format. Most of the stage from Chongzuo to Jigxi is flat, however that is not the case with its finale.

The riders will tackle a 7.7 kilometer long climb at 3.7%, which at high pace could drop some sprinters, and there is actually not one meter of downhill from its summit which comes with 30 kilometers to go.

Stage 3 id another day for the sprinters, with a rugged finale and 214 kilometers in length which may make it tricky for a few men that can't climb so well. However for most sprinters the climbs won't be enough to create serious damage, and the fast finale into Bama should see the fast men once again fighting for victory.

Stage 4 is a hilly day, one where a sprint is likely however where action can be expected. With a few climbs spread throughout the day it's the only stage where a breakaway can realistically succeed, with the toughest in the first kilometers where a strong group can go up the road.

The climb that ends with 35 kilometers to go is 3.8 kilometers long at 6.3% which can also be used to drop some sprinters, whilst there is an uphill bonified sprint with 11.5Km to go, at 7% where the GC men are certain to go for time bonuses and potentially continue on with splits that will likely appear in the peloton.

As is the case every year, the race returns to have its queen stage into Nongla. It's an 'unipuerto' stage as the Spanish would call it, completely flat day with one climb coinciding with the finish - which just so happens to be short and quite steep, as is usually the case in Spain too.

The climb is 3.2 kilometers long at 7.3% and early attacks can be dangerous, but most riders will wait for the final 1.2 kilometers which average almost 15%. It's a very steep and brutal finale, fit for the puncheurs and also climbers, and where the decisive differences in the race should be created.

The final stage of the race is the Nanning circuit, also in use for several years now. It's a stage that should end in a sprint but the climb that is featured in the circuit is quite interesting, as the 134 kilometer-long stage goes through it five times.

The ascent is 1.3 kilometers long at 11.5%, tough enough to split the peloton and see some attacks. Hard enough for them to survive? That's a different question. Still the final one comes with 19.5 kilometers to go, meaning the sprinters won't have much time to recover before the finale.

*** Jan Christen, Mattias Skjelmose
** Pello Bilbao, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Cian Uijtdebroeks
* Victor Lafay, Mikkel Honoré, Lukas Nerurkar, Alexey Lutsenko, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Alan Hatherly, Roger Adrià, Harold Martin Lopez

Pick: Mattias Skjelmose