Victory for Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) in the jersey of the race leader before the start of stage 2(Image credit: Getty Images)
Heading to the start in Beihai(Image credit: Getty Images)
The break of four gets up the road in the first ten kilometres of racing(Image credit: Getty Images)
Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is again in the break, with Julius Johansen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jens reynders (Israel-Premier Tech) and thomas Champion (Cofidis) joining him(Image credit: Getty Images)
Viviani sits being looked after by his team(Image credit: Getty Images)
A big celebration for Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious)(Image credit: Getty Images)
On the top step of the podium for stage 2(Image credit: Getty Images)
Milan claimed the leader's jersey as well as the stage(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) hit the front early on the second stage of the Tour of Guangxi, just like on the opening day, but this time the Bahrain-Victorious sprinter stomped determinedly on the pedals to hold off all challengers right to the line so he could celebrate a clear cut victory in Qinzhou.
There was a fair margin to the rest of the field spread out in pursuit of the Italian, who claimed the runner-up spot on day 1 but wasn't about to let himself be caught before the line again.
“Yesterday I went from a bit too far out, today I went from the right spot," said Milan. "You have to learn from your mistakes. The lads set me up exceptionally well, I just had to sprint in the last metres."
This time it was Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor) who had to settle for the second spot on the podium while Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) slotted into third.
Milan, who had started the day in second place overall, overtook stage 1 winner Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) in the general classification after his victory and it was clear just how much that win meant by the enthusiasm of his celebration.
"I wanted to finish well with this team," said Milan, who has spent three years with Bahrain-Victorious but is shifting to Lidl-Trek in 2024. "From a mental point of view, it’s important to get this win. I was tired after the Worlds, so I took a break. Then I was able to train well and train in a calm way, and I was able to find some decent condition for the end of the season.”
The 149.6km may have ended up with the expected battle for the sprinters, but there were moments of doubt in the final kilometres as just when the final duo from a long breakaway were about to be reeled in, an attack leapt out of the field leaving ten riders out the front, including Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), Zdeněk Stybar (Jayco-AlUla) and George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates) at just under 8km to go.
The gap stretched but ultimately there was no spoiling the sprinters' day, with the field all pulled back together at 3km to go.
How it unfolded
There was a rapid start to stage 2 of the Tour of Guangxi as the peloton left Beihai and set out for the oyster and turtle farming centre of Qinzhou. Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) began the day third overall thanks to the bonus seconds he picked up in the break on stage 1, and the Belgian was eager to repeat the feat here with an eye to moving into the red jersey of race leader.
De Bondt was duly aboard when the break went clear inside the opening 10km, with Julius Johansen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jens Reynders (Israel Premier Tech) and Thomas Champion (Cofidis) joining him off the front. The quartet quickly struck up a common cause, and their advantage would yawn out to three minutes by the time they hit the 30km mark.
Ineos policed affairs in the peloton on behalf of leader Viviani and as the afternoon progressed, the coalition of sprinters’ teams working at the head of the race gradually began to grow. Steven Kruijswijk put in a notable shift in the service of Jumbo-Visma teammate Olav Kooij and the break’s buffer steadily shrank once the race hit the wide boulevards of the finishing circuit in Qinzhou.
By that point, De Bondt had won the first bonus sprint and moved to within a second of Viviani’s overall lead. Ineos increased the pace on the approach to the second sprint with 19km remaining, mindful of the threat posed by De Bondt, but they fell short of bringing back the escapees. De Bondt duly picked off three more bonus seconds to move into the virtual lead before he dropped back to the bunch.
Reynders and Johansen tried gamely to fend off the chasers a little longer, and with eight kilometres to go it looked like they would duly be reeled in for another clear-cut sprint on the wide open roads. Then, however, a group of around ten including Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny) formed at the front to try and ruin the sprinters' day, and Shane Archbold (Bora-Hansgrohe) also made a flying effort out the front in the final race of his career. However with 3km to go it was all back together again and the inevitable sprint finish played out on the Qinzhou circuit.
Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
