The 2026 Tour of Guangxi brings the WorldTour season to a close, with Ayuso, Pidcock and Vauquelin among the favourites

The 2026 WorldTour reaches its final event with a luxurious participation. Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock, and Kévin Vauquelin will face off in the Tour of Guangxi, the Chinese race that will close the season of the top international circuit from October 13 to 18. Six stages, several of the best sprinters in the peloton, and a decisive uphill finish on the last day will test Paul Double, the current champion of the event.

Key Points of the Tour of Guangxi 2026

• Dates: from October 13 to 18. It will be the last race of the UCI WorldTour men's calendar for 2026.
• Route: 1,041.4 kilometers spread over six stages in the Chinese region of Guangxi.
• Participation: 22 teams, including the 18 WorldTeams, three ProTeams, and the Chinese national team.
• The general classification will be decided in Nongla: for the first time, the 3.1-kilometer ascent with an average gradient of 6.3% will be the finish of the last stage. In the previous six editions, the winner in Nongla also won the general classification.
• Bonuses: 10, 6, and 4 seconds for the top three in each stage, plus 3, 2, and 1 second in each of the two daily intermediate sprints.
• Paul Magnier seeks to make history: he won five stages in 2025 and is just one victory away from matching Fernando Gaviria's record of six stage wins.

Stages, Schedules, and Where to Watch the Tour of Guangxi 2026

The route combines stages favorable to sprinters with others of medium mountain. The first three stages offer options for sprinting, although the second and third include climbs that could select the peloton.

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The fourth stage will have the most elevation gain, with nearly 2,700 meters of accumulated ascent, while the fifth presents mountainous terrain in its central part and a finish more favorable for sprinters.

The race will be decided on Sunday in Nongla. Its 3.1 kilometers at an average gradient of 6.3%, with ramps reaching 10%, represent the main obstacle for the general classification contenders.

Stages and Schedules of the Tour of Guangxi 2026

The Tour of Guangxi 2026 will be broadcast live through HBO Max, with sports coverage from Eurosport. The platform will air all six stages of the competition, all in the morning schedule.

Favorites to Win the Tour of Guangxi 2026

Tom Pidcock and Juan Ayuso are among the main candidates for the final victory. The British rider from Pinarello Q36.5 arrives after finishing second in the Giro dell'Emilia and the Tre Valli Varesine, as well as sixth in Il Lombardia. His explosiveness on short climbs could be decisive in Nongla.

Ayuso, for his part, will try to close his first season with Lidl-Trek with a victory. The Spaniard has already shown his ability to win week-long tours and will have Kévin Vauquelin as another of his main rivals. The Frenchman from INEOS also has a suitable profile for the route.

Paul Double will defend the title he won in 2025, when he surprised his rivals on the ascent to Nongla. Jarno Widar, recent winner of the Tre Valli Varesine, Jhonatan Narváez, third last year, and riders like Maxim Van Gils, Léo Bisiaux, or Daniel Felipe Martínez complete the list of contenders.

Among the Spaniards, Javier Romo from Movistar will also be present, while Marc Soler will return to competition with UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

In the sprints, Paul Magnier and Olav Kooij will feature one of the great duels of the race. The Frenchman won five stages in 2025, while Kooij already knows what it is to win in Guangxi, where he achieved two victories in 2023. Kaden Groves, Jordi Meeus, Max Kanter, Fabio Jakobsen, and Sebastián Molano will also be among the candidates to win stages.