At almost two meters tall, Max Walscheid is arguably the most physically imposing of the sprinters in the WorldTour peloton. However, the Sunweb speedster is aiming to grow his palmarès to a similar stature. A five-time stage winner at the Tour of Hainan last year, the 24-year-old knows how to celebrate victory in China. Although the WorldTour Tour of Guangxi features a higher calibre peloton, Walscheid has emerged as a genuine contender for Fernando Gaviria`s early sprint dominance. Fourth on stage 1 with Michael Matthews leading him out, Walscheid found his own way in the long drag of stage 2, explaining gear selection cost him in the narrow loss to Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors).ADVERTISEMENT `In the end every sprinter was on his own. It was a hard final with the last two kilometres rising up,` Walscheid said of the `messy` sprint to Cyclingnews. `It didn`t look like this on the profile, but in the end, I think it was a good sprint. I should have taken an easier gear because I still had it in my legs. With Dylan Groenewegen and Pascal Ackermann, the podium finishers from stage 1, not featuring in the sprint, Walscheid has shown himself as Gaviria`s major rival for sprint wins. `I think now I am two places better than yesterday and tomorrow is another chance,` he said, adding the caveat that `Gaviria is a really good opponent.`
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