Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) made history on Monday in Guilin with his second stage win of the 2019 Tour of Guangxi, putting his difficult season behind him.

With the win, he defeated rivals Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) in five days, marking his comeback from a knee injury that ruined much of his 2019 season.

The Colombian was happy to win the opening stage of the North Sea, but after adding to that number in the final stage of the race, he looked completely relaxed and confident, like the rider he was before his injury.

"I'm really happy to win in China again. I was able to use my legs very well at the end of the stage when I gave it my all." It was a great way to end the season and it gives me a lot of motivation for next season."

After a testing stage that included a tough 35km climb from the line, Gaviria jumped on the wheels of Sunweb's Max Canter and dashed along the barriers with 175m to go.

Ackermann, the winner of stage 3, set the pace early on and was caught by Gaviria with a few meters to go, but Gaviria was able to pull away for a convincing victory.

"The climb was really difficult, but I came back after 5km on the descent. The team tried to make a very good plan for the leadout, but in the sprint I got a little confused and took another wheel."

"Then I waited for the best time to start and was able to make a little gap to the finish.

Gaviria dismissed the notion that he was back in top condition from the knee injury he sustained in a crash at the circuit in April. He said, however, that there were no lingering problems with the injury.

"It's been a really difficult season because of my knee injury. I couldn't ride my bike for a long time, and when I came back I trained a lot to get back to my best condition."

"It's been a long time since I've been back on the bike," he said.

"It wasn't good. I couldn't change it. But now it's good. I'll take a few weeks off [after Guangxi Zhuangpi] and start training again by December."

Next season will be a fresh start, even if Gaviria does not yet know which races he will target. This is because Maximiliano Richeze, who was Gaviria's lead-out man, will join the team from Detunink-Quickstep.

The two have formed an impressive partnership on the Belgian team, with Gaviria leading the Argentine to nine wins in 2018 and 14 in 2017. As a sprint pilot as well as a close friend, Gaviria could not be more pleased with his new addition.

"We certainly need more riders like Maxi. I rode with him for three years and we always did the same program," Gaviria told Cycling News. But next year he will be here and we can do more important things together."

"We are really good friends and we talk a lot. We go to dinner, we do everything. I'm really happy to have him on the team next year."

Back on the winning track and nearly finished a difficult season, Fernando Gaviria is ready for a fresh start in 2020. The deadly partnerships of the Quick Steps era have been reunited, and players like Ackermann, Yuan, and Viviani should be on high alert.