Roche and Deignan eye Tour of Beijing UCI points

Posted 05 October 2011

The inaugural Tour of Beijing promises to present some exciting end of season racing with Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan among those hoping to make an impact on the overall GC and to register valuable UCI points.

The introduction of the race has livened up the end of season calendar with Roche’s AG2R La Mondiale team fielding a full strength squad in a bid to maintain or improve their UCI ranking in order secure their place in the 2012 World Tour.

The team is currently ranked 18th with 342 points and will lose its Pro Tour status if it drops below that.

While Roche and Deignan’s focus is to deliver for their teams both riders will start the race knowing that their results could also have a hand to play in whether Ireland’s qualifies four riders for next year’s Olympics.

Ireland needs to maintain its top fifteen ranking to automatically qualify four riders for the London Olympics with the Tour of Beijing and next week’s Tour of Lombary season curtain closer presenting the final opportunities to mop up points.

All eyes will be focused on new world time trial champion Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) for this 11.3 kilometre individual time trial.

The short course rises to just 41 metres above sea level so we can expect some very fast finishing times.

The big question is how close Roche and Deignan can stay to the German and how much the wind will affect riders on the wide open roads.
 

Stage two is short at just 137 kilometers but the finishing climb is punchy enough for the GC contenders to make an early mark.

The riders will race 60 kilometres before starting four laps of a 21 kilometre course which features a short third category climb.

The race to the circuit will be a fast one as the day’s break attempts to go clear but it is unlikely that those who succeed in doing so will hold out to the finish.

The real battle for the GC takes place on stage three and the 162 kilometre long queen stage will certainly draw out the favourites.

The stage requires serious tactical planning considering that it features two climbs at either end with over 60 kilometres of downhill or flat racing in between.

The riders encounter the second category Dong Fang after just 15.5 kilometres and that alone could be the catalyst for a surprise attack.

The first category Goa Oin (43kms) follows before the long descent and flat ride to the base of the final two climbs of the day.

The first category Xiezishi (133kms) and Erpuliang (150kms) will shake things up but the 12 kilometre descent to the finish could wipe out any marginal gains.

The longest stage of the race is destined to come down to a bunch sprint despite the existence of three categorised climbs.

The climbing is reserved for the second part of the stage by which time a break should be firmly established.

The final two climbs of Tuo Ling (129kms) and Great Wall (146kms) are too far from the finish as to be decisive and the final 43 kilometres will be controlled by the sprinters.

The race returns to its starting points on stage five with a start from the historic Tian An Men Square.

The stage starts with short ride to a 7.5 kilometre circuit of which the riders will complete 12 laps.

The circuit is pan flat and the high-speed racing is destined to end in another bunch sprint.

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