Former world time trial champion Michael Rogers won’t have a race against the clock to gain time in the Tour of Beijing, but the Australian’s solid form in the past two seasons have given him encouragement that he can line out with good GC ambitions.
Rogers will lead the Team Saxo Tinkoff lineup in the race and is looking forward to his debut in the event. He previously raced in the Beijing Olympics five years ago, but has never ridden the WorldTour race. That’s about to change.
“I’ve wanted to come out for a couple of years now so it’s good to be finally here,” said Rogers, looking forward to Friday’s start. “Lombardia was pretty good the other day and I think I can do a good ride here.
“I would be happy for a top five, so fingers crossed. The hilly stages are well within my capabilities and my motivation is still quite good. I certainly want to be up there.”
Winner last year of Bayern Rundfarht and second in the Critérium du Dauphiné, Rogers moved to Team Saxo Tinkoff over the winter and provided solid backing to Alberto Contador and Roman Kreuziger in the Tour de France.
He finished sixteenth overall there and was also second in the Amgen Tour of California and sixth in the Dauphiné.
Another with ambitions is his compatriot Rory Sutherland, who also moved to the team last winter. He has done a lot of riding for the team this year but also got enough personal freedom to clock up sixth in the Klasika Primavera and top ten finishes in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, the Circuit de la Sarthe and the Tour of Turkey.
“The roads seem really good,” he said. “I think this time of year that if you have some sort of residual form or if you have form as long as your mentally relatively fresh or motivated for it, then you can do a good result.”
The duo will be backed by former world championship silver medallist Matti Breschel, Manuel Boaro, Jay McCarthy, Takashi Miyazawa and Evgeny Petrov.
The final WorldTour race of 2013 will begin in two days’ time 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.
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