Paul Magnier crashes as Milan Fretin claims his second win on the penultimate stage of the Tour of Guangxi

The Tour of Guangxi 2026 has once again ended in an accident. Paul Magnier, the overall leader and favorite to win the fifth stage, suffered a heavy fall just 500 meters from the finish. The Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step lost his chance to contest the sprint, which ended with a new victory for Milan Fretin (Cofidis), the Belgian's second win in this edition. Despite the incident, Magnier retains the leader's jersey with one stage remaining.

Paul Magnier crashes in the Tour of Guangxi and Milan Fretin takes advantage to achieve his second victory

The fifth stage, contested over 170.6 kilometers between Jinchengjiang and Yizhou, featured a route with more than 2,000 meters of accumulated elevation, although the last 50 kilometers were almost flat, favoring another mass finish.

The day's breakaway was led by Patrick Gamper and Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla), Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché), Davide Formolo (Movistar), Brandon Rivera (INEOS), and Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost). However, the peloton ended up neutralizing the last escapees 14 kilometers from the finish.

With all the sprinters preparing their positions, the tension increased significantly as they approached the final kilometer.

RECOMENDADO

Paul Magnier makes amends in Guangxi with a record-breaking win and reclaims the lead

30.5-inch wheels are here: Cube debuts them at the Enduro World Championships

The 2026 Enduro World Championships take place this weekend: favourites, schedule and where to watch

2026 Urban Cycling World Championships cancelled following attacks on Saudi Arabia

More power, less fatigue: how nitrates could help you on the bike

Bosch adds traction control to its CX and CX-R motors with a free update

About 500 meters from the finish, Paul Magnier was involved in a crash after making contact with Max Kanter (XDS Astana). The race leader ended up on the ground, as did Frits Biesterbos, another key player in this edition. Magnier was able to get up and continue, although he had abrasions on his left shoulder. Soudal Quick-Step ruled out serious injuries and hopes he can start in the final stage.

With Magnier out of the contest, Arvid de Kleijn launched the sprint from afar, but Milan Fretin once again demonstrated his speed to surpass Matteo Moschetti and Erlend Blikra, who completed the podium.

The Cofidis rider thus achieves his second victory in three days, after also winning the third stage when Magnier lost the support of one of his pedals during acceleration.

The race now presents an interesting balance of victories. Magnier has won the first and fourth stages, Fretin the third and fifth, while Biesterbos took the second. The five victories have been shared among only three riders.

Magnier maintains the lead before the decisive stage in Nongla

Despite the crash, Magnier retains the lead with a ten-second advantage over Frits Biesterbos and sixteen over Max Kanter, thanks to the time neutralization applied by the judges in the final stretch.

The Frenchman will thus face the final day after a week in which he has achieved his seventh stage victory in Guangxi, becoming the rider with the most wins in the history of the event, but he has also suffered two incidents that have prevented him from contesting two sprints.

The Tour of Guangxi will conclude this Sunday with 165.6 kilometers between Yizhou and Nongla. For the first time, the traditional climb of Nongla will be the scene of the final finish, where the overall classification will be decided.

It will be the moment for climbers and more explosive riders, with Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock, Kévin Vauquelin, and the reigning champion Paul Double among the names to watch.

Results of the fifth stage of the Tour of Guangxi 2026

1. Milan Fretin (Cofidis) – 3:44:18
2. Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello Q36.5) – +00
3. Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) – +00
4. Joshua Giddings (Lotto-Intermarché) – +00
5. Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +00

General classification after the fifth stage:

1. Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) – 18:43:24
2. Frits Biesterbos (Picnic PostNL) – +10"
3. Max Kanter (XDS Astana) – +16"
4. Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla) – +18"
5. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +19"