The World Tour races have returned to China after several years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Tour de Guangxi being one of them. The Intermarché-Circus-Wanty team had Madis Mihkels on their roster, but they withdrew the young rider following a social media post in which he made a gesture with his eyes that was poorly received. Mihkels, a young Estonian cyclist, achieved his first professional victory earlier this year by winning the sprint finish of the 3rd stage of the Deutschland Tour.
In an Instagram post by his teammate Gerben Thijssen, Mihkels made the gesture, and on social media, some people criticized the incident and referred to the Estonian sprinter as racist. As a result, the 20-year-old was removed from the competition by his own team, in what was his last race of the season. The Intermarché-Circus-Wanty team issued a statement on social media, apologizing for the incident.