The first race day ended with Taminiaux, a Professional Level Lotto Cyclist, defeating all his rivals to claim the first victory of the Tour of Guangxi.
The result might have seemed somewhat surprising, but in reality, it wasn't all that strange.
For this year's race, UAE Team had brought their sprinter Morano, and Team DSM had brought their sprinter Jakobsen. However, looking back at their performance over the entire season, neither was in particularly good form.
That's just how competitive sports are. On paper, they were the biggest favorites to win all the sprint stages of this Tour of Guangxi.
But once the race actually began, nothing was certain until they crossed the finish line.
As for Huang Chong cruising for the entire stage and simply finishing safely, the Red Bull Bora Team was certainly satisfied.
Their goal was never the first few stages. For now, they just needed to preserve Huang Chong's condition and have him save all his energy for the Nongla Mountain climb.
