Former world road race champion Thor Hushovd is looking to end his season on a high note and wants to clock up at least one victory in the upcoming Tour of Beijing.
The Norwegian national champion has been confirmed as one of the leaders of the BMC Racing Team for the race, which begins in eight days time. He will make his debut there. “I have never been to China, so I am looking forward to seeing the country and the city of Beijing itself,” he stated. “I am also looking forward to meeting the Chinese people.
“My goal is to win a stage, but I will also be working hard to help our general classification riders get a good placing on the overall.”
Another who is psyched is Steve Cummings, who won a stage last year and was a fine fourth overall two years ago. He has worked hard to get ready for the race and will be one of those who could well be up there in the overall.
“Winning a stage last year was very satisfying. The route was nice with a few climbs and a technical descent, and with it being the last race of the year, it was extra special,” he stated.
“The route and roads are good and there are opportunities for all types of riders to have success. Climbers, sprinters, breakaway specialists – there is something for everyone.”
He’s clear that the BMC Racing Team will contribute a lot to the racing, and can go there in an ambitious frame of mind. “I think we have options, which is great. We have a few guys who can do well on the overall and we have guys who can go for stage wins,” he said.
“I hope we can have some nice success. My form is good, so I'm hopeful I can do something.”
Another who will be on the radar of the other teams is Mathias Frank, who rode very strongly in this year’s Tour de Suisse and then went on to net second overall in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. He, Hushovd and Cummings will be joined by Italian time trial champion Marco Pinotti, the German climber Dominik Nerz, and the sprinter and lead out rider Daniel Oss. The promising young American rider Larry Warbasse completes the squad.
The team’s directeur sportif Max Sciandri says the team will have various targets. “We would like to do well there and put a nice finish on a season where we were gradually getting better and better,” he explained.
“We are bringing guys who can win stages and guys who can do well on the overall. So it's a race that we are definitely targeting to do well in.”
The race begins on October 11th with a 190.5 kilometre stage from Shunyi to Huairou Studio City. The 2013 edition includes the mountain top finish at Mentougou Miaofeng, which is certain to shape the final overall standings.
The Tour of Beijing is the final WorldTour race on this year’s calendar and will consequently feature the top-ranked nineteen teams in cycling.
Tour of Beijing 2013 (WorldTour):
Stage one, October 11th: Shunyi to Huairou Studio City, 190.5km
Stage two, October 12th: Huairou Studio City to Yanqing, 201.5km
Stage three, October 13th: Yanqing to Qiandiajian, 176km
Stage four, October 14th: Yanqing to Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain, 150.5km
Stage five, October 15th: Tian an men Square to Bird’s Nest Piazza, 117km