After a tough 2019 campaign, Enric Mas (Detunink-Quickstep) finally took victory in the final race of the season, the Tour of Guangxi. The lightweight climber benefited from a change in stage 4 that lengthened the hilly finish to the Nongla Scenic Area and made the final 1.5 km to the line steeper.

Mas, who is leaving the Belgian team after three years to move to Movistar in his native Spain, broke away on the steep slope of the hill and outkicked Daniel Martinez (EF Education First) and Diego Rosa (Team Ineos) for the final 1.5 He ran the last 1.5 km to the finish line.

"I'm really sad to leave the team.

Earlier in the week, Mas seemed resigned to racing in China at the end of the season, saying, "I'm a little tired after the season, but now that I'm here, I have to do it," adding that he would try to fight for the overall in his last race at Quick Step.

While Mas was able to celebrate his victory with his hands in the air as he crossed the line, many of the riders who battled behind him finished in exhaustion, including Lilian Calmejane (Total Direct Energy), who crossed the line in 12th place and fell to the floor.

There was some debate as to how much each team had been informed about the climb beforehand. At the stage start in Nanning, Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) and Team Sunweb's Directeur Sportif and Matt Winston were in deep discussion with UCI Commissaire Gianluca Crocetti about the finish.

"I think it was a surprise for all the teams," Crocetti said. 'They changed it years later in the last two kilometers, but we didn't know about it. It was the first time in years they changed it in the last two kilometers.

The mass confusion is similar to what Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) told Cycling News after stage 3. It's really strange because the map is the same, even though the finish is higher in terms of elevation gain."

Still, while questions about the finish were legitimate, it was the flyweight trout who navigated into the unknown, finishing one second ahead of their closest rival, fellow climber Martinez.

The result was a team effort by Quick Step, with Remi Cavagna taking the offensive on the descent of the climb. The Frenchman was caught on the flat section at the finish of the old stage, leaving another 1.5 km of climbing.

After Anwan Tolhuc (Jumbo Visma) made his first attack on the steep gradient before the finish, Mas, who had been on a dry run for a long time, sealed the victory.

"I knew I had to be in a good position for the left-hand corner at the beginning of the climb," said Tolhuc. And the team did a great job. We were in the top 20 and then Remi went full throttle at the start. I caught up to him at the finish last year and the Jumbo guy [Tolhoek] attacked."

"Then there were three in the lead. I sprinted and luckily won"

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Frankly, after a victory on a remote and grueling hill, Mas and his team have two days left to defend the red leader's jersey. Stages 5 and 6 are likely to be sprinters' stages, and the 24-year-old Mas is likely to get his first WorldTour victory.

And while the possibility of a race win is unlikely to satisfy the ambitions of a man who started the year dreaming of winning the Tour de France, it would go some way to salvaging a season that, in his own words, "was not my best year."

"I ran most of the races this year with Julien [Alaphilippe] and had to work for him. Also, when I had the chance, I didn't have many good moments. Finally we were able to win here. I am happy to say goodbye like this. It's my last race with the team and tomorrow I will try to keep the jersey."