Gree-Tour of Guangxi stage 6: Milan Vader seals overall crown as Olav Kooij wins sprint finale

Jumbo-Visma rounded out their sensational 2023 season with a double success on the final day of the Tour of Guangxi, Olav Kooij winning the final stage as Milan Vader sealed the overall title.

Vader had triumphed on the race's pivotal uphill finish at Nongla on stage 4 and finished safely in the peloton on Tuesday's concluding route around Guilin to win the red jersey outright in the final WorldTour race of the season.

As Vader cruised home in the middle of the pack, his teammate Kooij was sprinting for the line out the front, and he produced one final burst in his remarkable season to round out his tally on 13 victories.

The 168km final stage featured the climb of Yanshan Hill with 40km to go but despite attacks flying either side, the race came back together for another bunch sprint, and Kooj made himself the only repeat winner in a strong sprinting field.

And yet the Dutchman looked out of the picture, having to summon a stunning late charge up the barriers to deny Monday's winner Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) and a fading Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers).

Hayter held the keys to the sprint, as Ineos Grenadiers looked to spring a surprise to launch their British rider onto the overall podium, and pulled it off.

Hayter had started the day seventh overall, in a cluster of riders 18 seconds off the lead and four seconds off third-placed Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost). The Ineos masterplan began after Yanshan Hill, with the first target being the intermediate sprint with 18km to go, which carried bonus seconds for the top three. Ineos led it out, with Jhonatan Narváez providing the final turn as Hayter took first place and a three-second bonus.

More was needed, though, and Ineos took control alongside Alpecin-Deceuninck in the closing kilometres as more bonus seconds beckoned on the finish line. In the final straight, Hayter hit the front, making it look as though he was leading out the team’s sprinter, stage 1 winner Elia Viviani. The Italian, however, a canny track rider, let his teammate’s wheel go, and gave him a gap before the other sprinters sprang into response.

They left it late, with Molano opening up first out to the left and Kooij grinding his way up the left, and Hayter very nearly hung on for a sensational stage victory. In fact he was only caught in the very dying metres, as his legs themselves died. A couple more revolutions of the pedals and he’d have made it, but he could only muster a tired long-range bike throw as Kooij came through to snatch it.

Still, the third-place finish was job done as far as Hayer’s overall ambitions were concerned. He’d gained seven bonus in total and had jumped to third overall at the expense of Carthy.

Vader was unreachable and topped the overall podium, with Rémy Rochas (Cofidis) at six seconds and Hayter at 11 seconds.

It was a significant milestone for the 27-year-old Dutchman whose first full season as a pro in 2022 was derailed by a crash in April at Itzulia Basque Country. In fact, the crash was so severe he nearly died, suffering numerous serious injuries and spending 12 days in an artificial coma. With a full season under his belt he now has his first victories – a stage success and an overall title, at WorldTour level no less – he now has a proper platform on which to build his road career.