Results Tour of Guangxi 2026 Stage 3: Chaotic sprint as Milan Fretin takes huge win after Paul Magnier comes out of his pedal
Cycling
Milan Fretin has won stage 3 of the 2026 Tour of Guangxi after a sprint finish for the third day in a row. In another surprise winner, favourite Paul Magnier suffered a mishap in the sprint as he accidentally pulled his foot off the pedal.
Stage 3 of the Tour of Guangxi definitively moved up a gear on Thursday as a mammoth 212.3 kilometre stage sees the peloton take in the first major climbs of the race. However, the sprinter's were still the favourites to contest the win for the third day in a row.
The climbs weren't the most difficult that the race will take on over the weekend, but both the distance and over 1500 metres of climbing offered an opportunity for attackers to potentially compete for stage honours and challenge the general classification favourites.
The breakaway established itself quickly, gaining over six minutes of a time gap on the peloton with 120 kilometres to go as Jasha Sutterlin, Tobias Bayer and Ruidong Wang went out on their own.
Tobias Bayer
Breakaway reeled in gradually
Their advantage gradually wound down as the kilometres rolled by. However, as their gap went down to a minute, Bayer dropped his breakaway compatriots on the penultimate climb of the day as the peloton loomed large. Chines national team rider Wang battled hard to re-join Bayer at the front.
In fact, Wang was the last rider standing from the break before he was caught by the peloton with 19 kilometres to go and the bunch on the verge of the day's final climb. With the peloton coming over the climb together with 13 kilometres to go, it seemed like a bunch sprint was on the cards.
As the kilometres rolled in the bunch prepared for a bunch sprint as the peloton reduced and the battle for position intensified. Riding through the technical city streets, XDS Astana led out through the flamme rouge for Max Kanter, but Paul Magnier loomed just behind.
In the final 200 metres, Magnier dramatically came out of his pedals as Milan Fretin capitalised to take a huge victory for Cofidis.
Frit Biesterbos came second in another strong sprint while Jordi Meeus took third. Fabio Jakobsen's fourth place was also an encouraging sign for Visma | Lease a Bike.
Results Tour of Guangxi 2026 Stage 3
| 1 | FRETIN Milan | Cofidis | 4:32:45 |
| 2 | BIESTERBOS Frits | Team Picnic PostNL | ,, |
| 3 | MEEUS Jordi | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | ,, |
| 4 | JAKOBSEN Fabio | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 5 | DE KLEIJN Arvid | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
| 6 | MOLANO Juan Sebastián | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | ,, |
| 7 | GIDDINGS Joshua | Lotto Intermarché | ,, |
| 8 | BLIKRA Erlend | Uno-X Mobility | ,, |
| 9 | GILMORE Brady | NSN Cycling Team | ,, |
| 10 | BARTHE Cyril | Groupama - FDJ United | ,, |
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
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- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
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- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
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