OPQS has announced the selection for Tour of Beijing, a 764.5km stage race taking place from October 10th until October 14th. All stages are less than 180km in distance with the shortest being Stage 5 (117km), and the longest in distance being Stage 3 (175km).

Despite climbing early on in the stage race, there is no uphill finish until Mentougou Miaofeng mountain at the end of Stage 4 (157km). Stage 5, the final stage, is completely flat and features a 12 lap circuit.

“It’s the last race of the year,” OPQS Sport Director Davide Bramati said. “But it’s still an important World Tour race. So we would like to do well. We had good editions in the past thanks to the big performances of Tony Martin. The parcours in 2014 is a bit different, with some stages for sprinters and some complicated stages. We will try to go there and do well and good get a good result.”

“It will be a good experience in Beijing,” Rigoberto Uran said. “I come back to China for the first time since the Olympics in 2008. It will be nice to return. I remember the public on the roads and it will be good to see how this race will be followed by supporters along the parcours. My goal is to go there and do a good race, and try to end this season with good memories.”

The Omega Pharma - Quickstep roster for Tour of Beijing:
Julian Alaphilippe, Michal Golas, Nikolas Maes, Pieter Serry, Rigoberto Uran Uran, Petr Vakoc, Julien Vermote and Carlos Verona.