Preview. Stage 6 of the Tour of Guangxi will be another day for the sprinters most likely. It features a few ascents, but the fast men will be headlining the day - with the GC fight a secondary aspect, as Milan Vader looks to confirm his win.
Stage 6 features the virtually same formula to that of the previous day. A pan-flat day with a combination of two small ascents that can see some action. The final day of racing ends in Guilin and it features a combination of 2.7Km at 5% and 4.2Km with 4.6% which ends with 52 and 42 kilometers to go.
The Weather
A small southern breeze but again, the weather should not play a role in the outcome of the stage.
The Favourites
Olav Kooij - Well, the truth is there isn't anything meaningfully different about this sprint when comparing to others. No technical features or sections to really string things out. Hence chaos is likely to happen once again, and timing will be the key factor when it comes to deciding victory. Hence, it is hard to predict what will happen - split second decisions will be important. A pure bunch sprint is expected, Jumbo-Visma will have more than ever to assure Milan Vader takes the GC win but as always, Olav Kooij will be a dangerous man into the line.
Jonathan Milan - Milan has so far always had good positioning but often launches his sprints too early. This can be an issue, if someone follows his wheel he is doomed to be overtaken to the line. However if he does time it perfectly he can absolutely take the win. He has already this week, and Bahrain seem to be one of the teams that is handling the best the confusion that the sprints in China are being.
Juan Sebastián Molano - Today was a confirmation of what we knew, but the Colombian hadn't shown yet this week. He packs a mean sprint and specially when it's pan-flat. Molano will certainly be in the fight once again and who knows... Without pressure he can go on to take a second consecutive one.
The other winner of a sprint these past few days was Elia Viviani, but over the past few stages he has not shown the speed from his first day - which was partly due to the perfect positioning he had. I would have with better chances the performance of a rider like Arvid de Kleijn, and who knows Sam Bennett who does not have the climbing form but as long as he stays in the peloton he should have a shot at a pure sprint.
Adding to the mix will be Tobias Lund Andresen who will enjoy the climbs and sprinted to third today. The likes of Arnaud de Lie and Marijn van den Berg also need a strong pace uphill to shed fast men and improve their chances, I do expect both teams to come to the front. Max Kanter, Jon Aberasturi, Max Walscheid, David Dekker, Lionel Taminaux and Amaury Capiot will be among the outsiders.
Prediction Tour of Guangxi 2023 stage 6:
*** Jonathan Milan, Olav Kooij
** Juan Sebastián Molano, Arvid de Kleijn
* Elia Viviani, Sam Bennett, Tobias Lund Andresen, Arnaud de Lie, Marijn van den Berg, Max Kanter
Pick: Jonathan Milan
Preview written by Rúben Silva.
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