Taco van der Hoorn showed himself by being in the early breakaway. In the hilly part of the stage, the general classification riders showed themselves in the front. After that, the peloton took back control quickly and was heading for a new sprint. Fernando Gaviria took his second stage win in Guilin.

Van der Hoorn never thought that the breakaway would make it to the end. “The plan was to survive the last climb with the early breakaway. If I would manage to remain, I could possibly help Timo or Antwan. The pace was high all day, also in the front group. It was a gamble. Unfortunately, that did not work out as we had planned today.”

Sports director Addy Engels spoke of a good day for his team. “From the beginning, Taco was in the leading group of four, but they never really got much time. Antwan rode attentively in the front when the general classification riders were on the move on the last climb of the day. The most important goal now is Antwan’s position in the general classification. We are going to work on that.”

The results in China have also made it clear that Dylan Groenewegen is the most victorious rider of the season. He concluded his season last week with a win in the Tacx Pro Classic, raising his tally to fifteen victories.