Since his great performance in the Giro d'Italia, Julian Arredondo has been unable to reach his best form. Today he returned to his highest level when he finished 5th in the Tour of Beijing queen stage.

He was mostly reined in for the first days of the five-day tour, and told to, 'wait, wait' until today with the decisive summit finish; he was biting at the bit yesterday on the final climb of stage three, attacking and leading the peloton over a short category three climb with 11 kilometers to go; finally, Julian Arredondo was able to release his energy on the ending mountain ascent (12.6kms) of the 157-kilometer stage four, and he climbed the final ascent with the favorites until the final meters.

Playing off an aggressive move by Riccardo Zoidl, who attacked with three kilometers to go and gained more than a handful of seconds, Arredondo patiently waited with the favorites until the last kilometer when the winning moves were launched.

No one was able to match the on-form Daniel Martin (Garmin Sharp) who jumped away to stage victory, followed by Colombian Esteban Chaves (Orica GreenEdge), Phillipe Gilbert (BMC) and Rui Costa (Lampre Merida) two seconds later. 

But Arredondo was there, just behind, and for the small but powerful Colombian climber it was a huge relief to return to his old sensations. He climbed to a stellar 5th place, crossing the line 10 seconds after Martin, and eight seconds after the trio of riders that included Gilbert, who perhaps eked out one of his best climbs to hold onto the leader’s jersey by three seconds.

“Today the race was simple," sports director Adriano Baffi said. "The breakaway was only four and it was controlled. The team put Riccardo and Julian into great position for the final climb and then there was nothing more to do. I can tell you that it has been a long time since I saw the teamwork and spirit of today! 

"And Julian…compared to the Julian of Vuelta he had made a miracle today. We always knew he was good, his results at the beginning of the year show what he is normally capable of, and today he showed again this, that he is back to good shape.”

Riccardo Zoidl had the green light to play the final climb to his tune. Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin Sharp) was still hanging out front after an early attack at the bottom of the long climb, and Zoidl jumped from the small chasing group with three kilometers remaining.  He was able to gain eight seconds and claw closer to Hesjedal, but the group behind was determined: Zoidl, then Hesjedal, were swept up, setting up the last, big attacks with one kilometer to go.

“Riccardo was attacking just over 3kms to go, he had his own opportunity today, and unlucky for him that Pieter Weening from Orica pulled the group back to him," Baffi said. "He gave it a go, which was the plan, and it was good to see from such a young guy."

Tomorrow the Tour of Beijing concludes with a pancake flat circuit race of 117 kilometers, a last chance for the sprinters, but with 5th through 9th of the general classification tied on time, the race for the final positions in the overall is not finished.

“Tomorrow we shall see with Danny [van Poppel]," Baffi said. "And maybe Julian can move up in GC, but we also have to be careful that he is not passed in the GC from behind since it is very tight.

"This whole Tour of Beijing we have been present in the race, we have done our best, of course, but most important the team morale has been really good. We don’t have the win today, but to finish fifth and attacking in the final three kilometers with our young guys, this makes me more than happy.”