Favorites stage 3 Tour of Guangxi 2024 | Will it be the powerful sprinters or the attackers?

Thursday's stage has some similarities to Wednesday's. The peloton starts in the previous day’s finish town, Jingxi. The first hundred kilometers offer a mostly flat route. The first climb (1 kilometer at 4 percent) follows, but the finale is where things get challenging. In the last sixty kilometers, the riders face two categorized climbs. The first is the longest: 9.5 kilometers at 2.8 percent, which may not seem intimidating, but the uneven terrain makes it trickier than expected.

After a plateau with constant ups and downs, the riders tackle the final official climb of the day. It’s short but steep: 1.4 kilometers at 7.4 percent. From there, we enter a descent, but not all the way to the finish — an uncategorized bump lies 13 kilometers from the line. This one is 1.5 kilometers at 5.6 percent, with the steepest section at the end. A strong GC rider might see an opportunity here. From there, we get another a descent and a flat section all the way to the finish in Bama.

While Europe is in the midst of autumn, riders in China will contend with hot temperatures. The mercury is expected to reach around 27 degrees Celsius, possibly climbing above 30. Riders will need to stay hydrated and douse themselves with water bottles to keep cool.

The finale of stage 3 opens up the race to a range of potential winners. Strong sprinters could hang on at a slower pace and finish the job in a sprint. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) is one such rider. The Dutchman, if in form, should handle these types of climbs well. Other contenders could include Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech), Iván García Cortina (Movistar), Milan Fretin (Cofidis) and Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step).

Race leader Max Kanter (Astana Qazaqstan) will do everything possible to defend his jersey, but the course may be a bit too demanding for him. Normally, Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers) might be a top favorite, but the Ecuadorian suffered a hard crash in the final kilometer on Wednesday. The same goes for Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek): it remains to be seen if they can recover from the crash.

If it doesn’t end in a sprint, we’ll look to climbers with punch. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) is one of the strongest on paper for this kind of terrain. However, he’s not the only one who might prefer to avoid a sprint. Maximilian Schachmann (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) is another contender, as is Koen Bouwman (Visma | Lease a Bike), riding his last race with the Dutch team — why not go out with a bang?

Top favorites: Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) and Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost)