Taylor Phinney will have a chance to hammer out any residual frustrations from his near miss in the recent world championship time trial when he lines out next week as ome of the BMC Racing Team’s top riders in the Tour of Beijing.
The young American went heartbreakingly close to gold in the championships, finishing just five seconds behind the repeat winner Tony Martin. The two were far ahead of the rest of the field and while they won’t have a time trial in China to renew their rivalry, both are aiming to perform strongly there.
Martin said yesterday that he hopes to take the overall classification once again. Phinney and Klaas Lodewyck will focus on stage wins, with BMC Racing Team assistant director Max Sciandri believing they will have an early chance to impress.
“The first day will be a flat day with a sprint. We have Phinney and Lodewyck for that,” he said. “The next stage will be harder so that's when we will start to see what we can do on the overall classification. Unfortunately for us, there's no time trial this year.
“We'll take things day-by-day when it comes to the stages, but always keep an eye on the overall.”
Sciandri sees Swiss rider Mathias Frank as likely being the team’s option for the overall. "It's been a long season,” said the rider, who started his racing this season in January’s Santos Tour Down Under, “but this will be a nice race to finish it out."
Steve Cummings took fourth last year but without a time trial and with an increased emphasis on climbing, he’s cautious about his chances.
“There's no time trial this time and that was a difference-maker last year,” he said. “I've also been pretty tired since the worlds so I think it's going to be a hard race for me with the travel and such. But it's the same for everyone.”
Cummings won a stage in the Vuelta a España and, having come back from several big injuries, has the mental strength to pull out results.
The team will be completed by Swiss national road champion Martin Kohler, Mauro Santambrogin and Danilo Wyss. The race begins in Beijing on Tuesday and there Phinney will get a better estimation of how his form has held up since his superb worlds ride.
BMC Racing Team for the Tour of Beijing:
Stephen Cummings
Mathias Frank
Martin Kohler
Klaas Lodewyck
Taylor Phinney
Mauro Santambrogio
Danilo Wyss