“The boys told me not to, but I was panicking” – Paul Double holds on for tense Tour of Guangxi victory

29-year-old Paul Double from Team Jayco AlUla clinched the overall victory at the Tour of Guangxi on Sunday, capping his first WorldTour general classification triumph after a tense and emotional finale in Nanning. The 29-year-old Brit, who seized the leader’s jersey after winning the uphill finish on Saturday, successfully defended it on the final day despite a late scare.

“Yeah, very happy and a bit emotional for sure at the finish line, the boys were so good today, and I was happy yesterday, but to finish the job today, it’s pretty emotional,” Double said in an interview at the finish line in comments gathered by Domestique.

Despite the stage being essentially flat, a short but very hard ascent not far from the finish line spiced things up. Double faced a nervous moment when Victor Lafay, who was second in the general classification 15 seconds behind him, attacked on the final climb less than 20 kilometers from the finish. For a short while, the Frenchman’s advantage on the road made him the virtual race leader.

“When Lafay went on the last lap, I panicked. The boys told me not to, but I was panicking,” Double admitted. “I tried to pull it back on my own, was not doing a great job and then Alan [Hatherly] was there, super strong, and Jasha [Sütterlin] came back, but also the groups came back together.”

Double’s triumph in Guangxi caps a stellar debut season in the World Tour, making it five wins in 2025. Earlier this year, he won a stage at Coppi e Bartali and claimed both a stage win and the overall title at the Tour de Slovakia. Still, the British rider admitted the success in China came as a surprise.

“The form was good, but there’s a lot of really good bike riders here, so, yeah, I think I said this yesterday, I wanted to do well but didn’t expect this,” he said.

The race also saw another Paul dominate the sprints - Paul Magnier - who claimed all five stages not won by Double, including the final sprint in Nanning. Double took it with humor, adding: “It does seem that way, hey? But, congrats to Paul Magnier because he’s, well, super impressive.”

With his World Tour breakthrough complete, Double now looks forward to the off-season and a change in base. “I’ve been living in Andorra, but I’ll be moving to San Marino,” he revealed.

As for what the victory means for his future, Double remained modest about his prospects. “I don’t know. It’s all new for me. I’m just super happy with it, and I’ll speak to the people who know. I don’t know cycling, so, yeah, we’ll see.”