Pidcock leads strong Tour of Guangxi field taking shape despite race's uncertain future

The Tour of Guangxi has brought down the curtain on the men’s and women’s WorldTour seasons in recent years, marking the second WorldTour-level event on the calendar in Asia following the UAE Tour in February. 

However, the dynamics of the Chinese stage race look different in 2026, with the women’s event already cancelled, while the men’s event’s future is reportedly in doubt beyond the current campaign. 

Despite that uncertainty, the 2026 edition of the Tour of Guangxi, which will take place over six stages from October 13-18, is still set to boast a start list that features multiple stars. 

The Tour of Guangxi have already announced multiple riders for the upcoming edition via Instagram.

The first of those was Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5), who is set for his first rendezvous at the Chinese stage race.

Following his seventh-place finish in the road race at the Worlds, Pidcock is set to tackle the upcoming Italian races leading up to and including Il Lombardia, which takes place on October 10, just three days before the start of the Tour of Guangxi.

Pidcock has a strong track record on Asian soil, having won his first XCO mountain bike Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021, before winning two stages and the GC at the AlUla Tour in his debut race for Pinarello Q36.5 at the start of 2025.

The Briton has also confirmed that for the third consecutive winter, he will not return to the cyclocross field. 

Pidcock is set to be one of the leading contenders for the general classification and red jersey alongside Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), who will also make his debut at the race. 

Like Pidcock, the 24-year-old Spaniard raced in Montréal, where he finished 13th, and is also set to feature in Lombardy. However, in addition, Ayuso will challenge for the European title in Slovenia on Sunday before turning his attention to the Italian Classics.

Defending champion Paul Double (Jayco AlUla) is also set to return, after winning the queen stage and the GC last season, marking the first WorldTour victories of the Briton’s career. 

Beyond the contenders for the GC, multiple sprinters were announced, including Dutch pair Fabio Jakobsen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM), both of whom are making a return, having won two stages each back in 2018 and 2023.

Kooij had to wait until May to make his Decathlon debut due to persistent illness after spending five WorldTour seasons in the colours of Visma. The 24-year-old has already left a lasting impression, taking six victories, including stage 5 of the Tour de France. 

Meanwhile, Jakobsen has headed in the opposite direction after completing a mid-season transfer to Visma from Team Picnic PostNL. The 30-year-old recently sprinted to victory at the GP Dr Eugene Roggeman in Belgium on 24 September. 

Although the Dutch duo are the only sprinters announced officially by the race so far, an early provisional start list does include both Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) too.  The latter having recently signed for Lidl-Trek for 2027.

Alongside Double, Magnier was the star of the show in last season’s edition, winning five of the six stages as well as the points classification, to bookend a prolific end to the campaign with 14 victories in 18 race days.