The curtain rises on the 25th edition of the Tour Magnificent Qinghai, which will animate the homonymous Chinese province for 8 days. 22 teams, 12 nations represented, 150 riders are ready to battle it out through spectacular passages but especially at high altitude. Last year, thanks to time bonuses, Eritrean Henok Mulueberhan managed to secure the final victory, repeating the success he achieved in 2023. The XDS Astana team rider is currently the only one to have won twice and has returned to China to attempt a hat-trick, but it won't be so simple.

The XDS Astana team is the only World Tour formation at the start, and will be joined by 8 professional teams (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, Burgos Burpellet BH, Caja Rural Seguros RGA, Cofidis, Euskaltel-Euskadi, MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort, Solution Tech Nippo Rali, Team Polti Visit Malta) and 13 Continental teams (Azerion Villa Valkenburg, Cache x Body Wrap, 7Eleven Cliqq Road Bike Philippines, Quick Pro Team, Roojai Insurance Win Space, Terengganu Cycling Team, Body Wrap Ltwoo Cycling Team, China Anta Me Tech Cycling Team, Fnix Scom Hengxiang Cycling Team, Li Ning Star, Shenzhen Gineya Xidesheng Cycling Team, Wheeltop Rotor Chengdu Team, Qinghai Tianyoude Hotel Cycling Team). As tradition dictates, the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai route presents no major climbs, with stages for pure sprinters and rolling sections where time bonuses could once again prove decisive. Comparing the 2026 edition with the previous one, we find Alexander Sally, Henok Mulueberhan, Petr Rikunov and Manuel Penalver, winners of five of the eight stages.

Italy has always had a special relationship with the Chinese race, and on several occasions Italian riders have left their mark. Currently, Sacha Modolo holds the record with 8 stage victories in the entire competition. Only twice, however, has the Italian flag waved on the top step of the final podium, in 2003 with Damiano Cunego and in 2007 with Gabriele Missaglia. To these victories must be added the third-place finishes achieved by Valerio Agnoli (2005), Davide Baldaccini (2023) and Emanuele Tarozzi (2024). As happened in the previous edition, this year there will be 19 Italian riders at the start, equaling the record achieved in 2025. The team with the largest contingent is MBH Bank CSB, making its debut in the Chinese race with 6 Italians: Christian Bagatin, Cesare Chesini, Edoardo Cipollini, Lorenzo Masciarelli, Diego Braalente and Lorenzo Nespoli. The Bardiani CSF 7 Saber team, meanwhile, fields five Italian riders: Luca Covili, Marco Manenti, Alessio Martinelli, Alex Tolio, who finished sixth overall last year, and Enrico Zanoncello, winner of a stage in 2023 and twice third in the previous edition. Four Italian riders will start for Solution Tech Nippo Rali (Andrea Piras, Tommaso Nencini, Valerio Conti and Matteo Regnanti), while Gabriele Bessega and Davide Bais will represent Team Polti Visit Malta. Riccardo Lucca will defend the colors of the Estonian Quick Pro Team, and finally, keep an eye on Alexander Konychev of China Anta Mentech Cycling Team, who is ready to tackle the sprint finishes.