The Women’s WorldTour season comes to a close this week in China with the three-day Tour of Chongming Island from October 14 through 16, followed by the Tour of Guangxi on October 19 (October 18 in the United States).
Austrian champion Kathrin Schweinberger and sprinter Silvia Zanardi will focus on the three flat sprint days of Chongming Island as their objectives. They are joined in the leadout by Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster, who races for the first time since successful surgery to combat FLIA (Flow Limitation in the Iliac Artery).
The hilly Tour of Guangxi one-day race will then suit climber Yurani Blanco and Giada Borghesi. The Italian puncheur was second in Nanning in 2024, her first WorldTour podium.
The team of five suits both parcours and will be firing on all cylinders to score results in China.
How to watch
Tour of Chongming Island 10/14 – 10/16
USA
Max with via the B/R Sports Add-On from 1:05 am ET / Midnight CT / 11 pm MT (10/13) / 10 pm PT (10/13)
UK
TNT Sports/Discovery+ from 6:05 BST
Europe
Eurosport/Discovery+ from 7:05 CET
Tour of Guangxi 10/19 (evening of 10/18 in North America)
USA
Max with via the B/R Sports Add-On from 9:15 pm ET / 8:15 pm CT / 7:15 pm MT / 6:15 pm PT
UK
TNT Sports/Discovery+ from 2:15 BST
Europe
Eurosport/Discovery+ from 3:15 CET
Austrian champion Kathrin Schweinberger has had a successful first season with Human Powered Health. As well as the national title, the 28-year-old has scored five podium finishes and 15 top-tens and aims to add to this record.
“Chongming Island is a completely flat race with very wide roads,” Schweinberger explains. “Positioning is still vital throughout the day, with the intermediate sprints and every second counts. There’s a big chance for the sprints, so we will go all in on the lead-out and with our five riders, we have a team we can use in many different ways.”
Schweinberger was a crucial part of her previous team’s success at the race in 2024 and finished third on stage 2. She cites an added boost to her performance now racing in the colors of the Austrian champion and atop a new champion-liveried Factor OSTRO VAM.
“These are special races in China,” she explains. “It’s completely different to racing in Europe. The vibes are different, and you have to improvise a little bit more, but we adapt to it well. I’m looking forward to sprinting with Silvia. We will both try and be there competing at the end like in Poland. If we race smart, then we hope for good results.”
Giada Borghesi finished second in a two-up sprint at the Tour of Guangxi in 2024. Only a few months on from breaking her elbow, Borghesi sported a brace with the result a testament to her strength and recovery. Recent results, including fifth place on stage 3 of Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche and fourth at Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar, show she is in form on this type of parcours.
“I think that this year I will be able to handle the trip to China even better, thanks to the experience I gained last year,” says the 22-year-old. “It is always a new experience to travel for races, and I have to be grateful, it will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The route and explosive nature of the climb suited her punchiness, and Borghesi is hoping for further success in China.
“Last year I got my first WorldTour podium and it was fantastic,” she says. “For sure, we will try again. The goals will be this, and also to help the team in the sprint races.”
Tour of Chongming Island stage-by-stage
10/14 Stage 1 | Chongming New City Park – Chongming New City Park (108.6 km) Flat
The opening day in China sets the tone for the week with a flat stage where humid conditions could play as much of a factor as the parcours. The sprinter’s teams will face a straight final 800 meters on a wide highway, with space enough for a classic field sprint.
10/15 Stage 2 | Shanghai – Chongming (128.6 km) Flat
Stage 2 tours the east of Chongming Island, finishing the opposite way on the same wide finish straight from stage one. Stage one’s technical final left-hander is replaced by a right-hand corner where a strong lead-out will prove decisive.
10/16 Stage 3 | Chongming New City Park – Chongming New City Park (111.4 km) Flat
A more contained route on the final day, with a few more tight corners. The finish straight here is the longest of the week, with a three-kilometer arrow-straight highway finish.
Tour of Guangxi
10/19 Nanning – Nanning (108.5km) Hilly
The centerpoint of the WorldTour one-day is five ascents of a steep 1.4km at 11% climb before almost 25km of flat to the line. Strong sprinters could survive to the end, or if, like in 2024, a duo or smaller group could break away on the road to the line.
