After the race began, it was the breakaway riders, as usual, who launched the first attack.
But today's breakaway lineup was vastly different from the previous three days.
First, the Alpecin cyclist De Bondt, who had been in the breakaway for three consecutive days, was no longer participating. He had accumulated so many intermediate sprint points and time bonuses in the first three stages that he was now first in the general classification and wearing the Red Jersey.
Second, Chinese cyclist Su Haoyu had joined the breakaway group.
This came as a bit of a surprise to the other four riders in the breakaway, who all wondered:
'Why are the Chinese cyclists so active and tactically bold in this year's Tour of Guangxi?'
However, the four riders—from the Alpecin Team, the Jieke Team, the Israel-Premier Tech Team, and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux—all doubted whether Su Haoyu could stay in the breakaway until the end.
