CyclingQuotes.com uses cookies for statistics and targeting ads. This information is shared with third parties.
ACCEPT COOKIES » MORE INFO »

Every day we bring you more pro-cycling news

“Benat was able to get away because you had three or four good riders from Movistar attack. Now that we’ve got Ryder and me, there’s two guys to go for it and hopefully we’re in a much stronger position,” Marti...

Photo: Sirotti

DANIEL MARTIN

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST

TEAM PROFILE
|
NEWS

LACHLAN MORTON

NEWS

NATHAN HAAS

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

PHILLIP GAIMON

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

RYDER HESJEDAL

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

STEELE VON HOFF

NEWS

THOMAS DEKKER

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

TOUR OF BEIJING

RACE PROFILE
|
NEWS

TYLER FARRAR

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS
09.10.2014 @ 14:29 Posted by Aleksandra Górska

With less than 24 hours before the fourth and final edition of the Tour of Beijing, it’s been a challenging few days for Garmin-Sharp but one of the pre-race favourites, Dan Martin, is taking it all in his stride.

 

The Irishman has arrived with reinforcements in a bid to improve on his runner-up finish in 2013. Martin is joined in the Garmin-Sharp squad by former Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal, mountain-men Lachlan Morton and Phil Gaimon, grand tour stage winner Tyler Farrar, former Herald Sun Tour winner Nathan Haas and a focused Steele Von Hoff.

 

The 2014 Tour of Beijing will close out the UCI WorldTour over five stages and begins Friday, October 10 in the city of Chongli, the winter sports playground to the north of the Chinese capital.

 

Garmin-Sharp’s bikes and equipment along with those of three other teams were delayed through Chinese customs upon the team’s arrival in Beijing, rendering the squad unable to train until Thursday morning.

 

Martin, who added to his tally of cycling’s Monuments with victory in Il Lombardia on Sunday, admitted it had been a frustrating few days.

 

“There’s always the challenge of having the time difference and the different nutritional conditions out here, but we’re not the only team that hasn’t had bikes for two days so it’s just not ideal,” Martin said.

 

“It’s going to be interesting getting on the bike today but hopefully the race won’t be too hard tomorrow and we can get through it.”

 

Martin, along with defending champion Benat Intxausti (Movistar) share favouritism heading into this year’s edition of the Tour of Beijing, in what is a stacked field of possible contenders. The Garmin-Sharp leader believes that 2013’s experience on the decisive Queen stage was somewhat of a learning curve, leading to a bolstered squad in Beijing this time around.

 

“The guys did their best for me but I was isolated with 10km to go on the climb,” Martin explained.

 

“Benat was able to get away because you had three or four good riders from Movistar attack. Now that we’ve got Ryder and me, there’s two guys to go for it and hopefully we’re in a much stronger position.”

 

The fourth stage, featuring the mountain-top finish to Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain returns in 2014 but has an additional Cat. 2 climb with just over 35km remaining in the 157km stage.

 

It’s not only the Tour of Beijing’s penultimate stage which holds a lot of interest for Martin, with the 176km third stage once again featuring the unique Panda of the Mountain (POM) prime for the first rider to reach the designated Panda summit, where local cycling fans will assemble.

 

Martin and the panda have become synonymous after he was chased by a spectator wearing a panda suit while en-route to his historic victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2013.

 

Martin and Garmin have since partnered with the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) with the panda taking on the role of the team’s spirit animal.

 

“We’ve got a bit of a surprise this week as well but it’s a bit of fun,” he said. “It’s something that I took on last year at the race because I think pro cycling has become so serious now, it’s nice to have a bit of a light-hearted approach to it. If it helps endear the race to the locals as well, it’s nice.”

 

The finale edition of the Tour of Beijing begins tomorrow and will conclude on Tuesday 14th of October as the concluding event on the UCI WorldTour calendar.

 

The five day, 764.5 kilometre route provides for opportunistic racing and takes in breathtaking views of the Great Wall, Beijing’s mountain terrain and embraces key tourism attractions such as Tiananmen Square and the Bird’s Nest.

 

 

The complete Garmin-Sharp roster for the 2014 Tour of Beijing consists of:

Daniel Martin, Ryder Hesjedal, Lachlan Morton, Phil Gaimon, Nathan Haas, Thomas Dekker, Tyler Farrar and Steele Von Hoff

 

MORE NEWS:

VIEW SELECTED

Bycykling 101: Navigering i byens gader og cykelvenlige... 27.11.2023 @ 12:11The Best Danish Cyclist To Bet On At 2022 Tour De France 13.01.2022 @ 15:262022 Upcoming Tournament Overview 03.01.2022 @ 09:45Best Place to Find Stand-Up Paddleboards 16.06.2021 @ 08:16What are Primoz Roglic’s Chances to Win 2021 Tour de Fr... 17.03.2021 @ 08:37Amazing victory by young champion Sarah Gigante 04.02.2021 @ 14:21Three reasons why cycling is one of the best ways to ex... 28.09.2020 @ 12:03Why do businesses use meeting room managers? 14.09.2020 @ 13:42Five things that you can do, if you want to gain more f... 20.08.2020 @ 15:38One for the road 09.06.2020 @ 15:25List of CyclingQuotes previews 07.05.2020 @ 13:20Blue Energy: room for all interests 26.08.2019 @ 12:56Get your daily dose of exercise at home 08.07.2019 @ 10:443 good advice to be able to afford your favorite bike 25.02.2019 @ 12:32Cycle through gorgeous landscapes 22.10.2018 @ 21:41Balance Your Economy and Diet and Start Saving Money 08.10.2018 @ 11:18Stay Safe: 3 Helmets That Can Keep Your Head Protected... 20.07.2018 @ 07:59Planning to bet on Tour De France - Bet types and strat... 24.05.2018 @ 14:18Basics of cycling betting 25.10.2017 @ 13:10Bauer moves to ORICA-SCOTT 28.08.2017 @ 10:45End of the road for CyclingQuotes 08.01.2017 @ 16:00Rui Costa confirms Giro participation 07.01.2017 @ 12:55Van Avermaet: I am not afraid of Sagan 07.01.2017 @ 09:45Unchanged course for E3 Harelbeke 07.01.2017 @ 09:32Jenner takes surprise win at Australian U23 Championships 07.01.2017 @ 08:53No replacement for Meersman at Fortuneo-Vital Concept 06.01.2017 @ 19:14Barguil with two goals in 2017 06.01.2017 @ 19:06More details about French Vuelta start emerges 06.01.2017 @ 14:16Kristoff to start season at Etoile de Besseges 06.01.2017 @ 14:10Ion Izagirre announces schedule for first year at Bahrain 06.01.2017 @ 12:40JLT Condor optimistic for Herald Sun Tour 06.01.2017 @ 09:19Haas leads Dimension Data trio in fight for Australian... 06.01.2017 @ 09:15Sagan spearheads Bora-hansgrohe at Tour Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:12Henao and Thomas lead Sky Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:09Bauer crowned New Zealand TT champion 06.01.2017 @ 08:33Van der Poel ready to defend Dutch title 05.01.2017 @ 21:00Pantano ambitious for first Tour with Trek 05.01.2017 @ 20:41Landa with new approach to the Giro 05.01.2017 @ 20:36Sunweb Development Team sign Goos and Zepuntke 05.01.2017 @ 20:27Dumoulin confirms Giro participation 05.01.2017 @ 20:19Bauer targets victories in Quick-Step debut 05.01.2017 @ 20:16Gaviria and Boonen lead Quick-Step in San Juan 05.01.2017 @ 20:13Team Sunweb presented in Germany 05.01.2017 @ 20:09ASO take over major German WorldTour race 05.01.2017 @ 11:01Team Sunweb unveil new jersey 05.01.2017 @ 10:54Reactions from the Australian TT Championships 05.01.2017 @ 08:27Dennis defends Australian TT title 05.01.2017 @ 08:21Scotson takes back to back U23 TT titles in Australia 05.01.2017 @ 08:15Utrecht on track to host 2020 Vuelta 04.01.2017 @ 18:28Pre-season setback for Talansky 04.01.2017 @ 17:56Kristoff: It's not impossible for me to win in Rou... 04.01.2017 @ 17:49Boom close to first cyclo-cross win in LottoNL debut 04.01.2017 @ 17:40UAE Abu Dhabi make late signing of Arab rider 04.01.2017 @ 17:36UAE Abu Dhabi unveil new jersey 04.01.2017 @ 17:30BMC unveil race schedule 04.01.2017 @ 17:21

Currently no news in this list

Mathias Lindberg MORTENSEN
32 years | today
Kristof GODDAERT
38 years | today
Sarah MICHIELSEN-STEVENS
25 years | today
Kaat HANNES
33 years | today
Alessio GIACALONE
38 years | today

© CyclingQuotes.com