Tour of Guangxi: Ackermann powers to victory on stage 3

After narrowly missing out the first two days, Pascal Ackermann (BORA-hansgrohe) got it right on stage 3 of Tour of Guangxi as the German powered to victory in Nanning to increase his lead in the general classification.

Alexandr Riabushenko (UAE Team Emirates) finished in second place, while Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT) took third place for the third day in a row.

A small breakaway of just three riders took off early in the stage and managed to get a gap of a few minutes on the peloton as they started on the first of the five laps around the city. However, as Astana upped the pace on the penultimate lap, Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo), Nic Dlamini (Team Dimension Data) and Brian van Goethem (Lotto Soudal) quickly got absorbed by the pack.

A few riders tried to get away on the short category 3 climb at the end of the stage. With its top just 5 km from the line, the punchy riders knew this could be a good chance to distance the pure sprinters.

Guillaume Martin (Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team) was the first rider to attack on the climb. Wearing the KOM jersey, the Frenchman was eager to take more points, which he managed to do as he crossed the top in first position. Several attacks followed on the final kilometers but ultimately, it all came down to a sprint, in which Ackermann proved to be the strongest.

Pascal Ackermann:

“I think it was a really really hard climb in the end. I saw Trentin and I thought, ok, he’s always a good choice in this parcours and I tried to follow him and finally, the victory. Now the pressure is gone”.

Tomorrow’s stage 4 of Tour of Guangxi is also the queen stage of the race with its uphill finish to Nongla Scenic Area. Those who aim to win the race overall can’t afford to miss out here.

Make sure to tune in and watch all the action from the queen stage as Velon broadcasts the race live on its social media channels. For more information on where to watch, click here.