Vernon survives tricky final and wins again in Tour of Guangxi, but loses leader's jersey after penalty

So far, it has been a sprint festival in China. After Belgians Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto dstny) and Warre Vangheluwe (Soudal Quick-Step) won the first two stages, Ethan Vernon won the third stage. The Brit from Israel-Premier Tech was stronger than Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) by a minute difference and also took the leader's jersey. As the multi-day race progressed, the stages became more demanding and challenging. For example, the fourth stage had nearly 3,000 meters in elevation, with some significant hills. The finale would also be relatively difficult, but it was enough to avoid another sprint would remain open.

After the start in Bama, a breakaway formed where the Low Countries were strongly represented. Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step) was also in the front group on Thursday, and Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty) was close to victory from an early breakaway the day before. The Dutchmen were joined by Belgian Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Swiss Stefan Bissegger (EF Education - EasyPost). Reinderink saw his chance and grabbed enough points for the mountain jersey. Ultimately, he took so many points that he took over the lead in that classification from Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).

Once the final forty kilometers arrived, the breakaway separated from Bissegger: the Dutchman and the Belgian continued with the three of them. Once in the uphill final, many sprinters dropped out: Molano and Vangheluwe could not keep up with the pace. Vernon managed to hang on but struggled, especially as the attackers smelled their opportunity. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Wanty), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Visma | Lease a Bike)... The strong all-rounders tried to ride away on the hilly course. That caused the gap to the three in front to shrink: with 25 kilometers to go, they had forty seconds left.

The hopeful attackers did not get away from the (depleted) peloton. This allowed the breakaway riders to gain ground: they took the bonuses from the sprint thirteen kilometers before the finish, except for Taco van der Hoorn, who was no longer there. Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) took the last second. The remaining two fought courageously; the sprinters' teams had broken up. Demarrages continued to follow, but no one got away: that only worked in Reinderink and Dewulf's favor. Thanks to the work of Israel-Premier Tech and UAE Team Emirates, they were still caught with two kilometers to go. In the sprint, Vernon was perfectly delivered by lead-out Jake Stewart and won his second stage in a row. After the finish, however, the Brit received a 20-second time penalty. As a result, Kanter once again takes the lead in the stage race.