As a true sign of cycling's globalization, the WorldTour calendar is for the third consecutive year coming to a close with the Tour of Beijing and this year's edition shapes up to be the most competitive yet. While the race still lacks the prestige of the major European races, the race is an important hunting ground for riders in search of WorldTour points and has attracted a stronger line-up than ever before. They will be tested on a course that includes a brutal summit finish and continues the natural trend of progressively harder courses.

The UCI have made great strides in their attempt to globalize cycling and have tried to expand the pinnacle WorldTour calendar to as many continents as possible. The race series left Europe for the first time for the 2008 Tour Down Under and entered the North American continent with the Canadian WorldTour races two years later. In October 2011, the series expanded into Asia when that year's edition was brought to a close with the inaugural edition of the Chinese Tour of Beijing.

Like the Canadian races, the Tour of Beijing race was included on the finest calendar from its very first edition with UCI being keen to globalize their finest calendar even further and so it was granted a four-year WorldTour license from the beginning - much to the frustration of many European organizers who have fought hard for years to get onto the major calendar. However, the UCI had always shown its intentions by getting actively involved in the race that has been set up in a partnership between the global federation and the Beijing City Government with the race being organized by Global Cycling Promotion, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UCI. In both 2012 and 2013, the race was set to be either followed or preceded by another new WorldTour event, Tour of Hangzhou, that should make the long travel to China a bit more worthwhile for the ProTeams but the two first editions of that race have both been cancelled.

For the locals, the event is a legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and has the official purpose of promoting Beijing as a global event city. The focal point of the race is of course the Chinese capital itself and the race always has a stage that is held entirely on a circuit in the city. However, most of the stages are held in the hilly terrain north of the capital with the race showing off some of the country's tourist attractions, the Great Wall of course being the main draw card. Everyone who witnessed the road race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, knows just how hard the terrain in this area is!

While the lack of a deep history and late calendar date make it far less prestigious than the major European races, the Tour of Beijing is fiercely contested and has attracted a rather strong line-up for the first two editions of the race. With WorldTour points being of immense importance, many teams see it as an opportunity to add to their tally in a race where the competition is less fierce than it is at the major events in Europe. It is no wonder that smaller teams like Ag2r and Euskaltel have traditionally fielded very strong rosters for the event, clearly hoping to use the race to bolster their chances in the sporting hierarchy that plays a crucial role in determining the ProTeams of the following year. This year is no exception and while most of the major stars have put an end to their season, many teams have been keen to stress the importance of the Chinese event.

The race is the final on the WorldTour calendar but has failed to benefit from that position. None of the top contenders in the individual WorldTour standings have so far included the race on their calendar and the organizers still haven't got the chance to turn the race into a decider of the year-long competition. This year there was a chance that Joaquim Rodriguez might have used the race as a final chance to dispose Chris Froome from the overall lead with the Spaniard mentioning the possibility if he failed to move into first place in Il Lombardia. By winning the final monument of the season, he fulfilled his mission and so had no reason to travel all the way to China as Froome has already put an end to his season due to injury. The WorldTour rankings still haven't gained the kind of prestige that makes the biggest riders alter their schedules to target the overall win.

The race still hasn't found  a fixed format and the organizers have made the courses progressively harder. In the debut year, all was decided in the opening time trial which was followed by 3 sprint stages and a harder stage that failed to produce much separation. Last year there was no time trial and the race had three hilly stages with a maiden summit on the Great Wall being the queen stage of the race. This year the race has been made even tougher with a real mountaintop finish turning it into a race for the real climbers.

The first two editions have been dominated by Tony Martin who has managed to win twice in a row. He laid the foundations for his first win by a dominant showing in the opening time trial and defended his lead all the way to the end. Last year he defied expectations when he made up for the lack of a time trial by making a fantastic solo attack on the second day to win the stage and take the leader's jersey. He defended it all the way to the end and rode strongly on the queen stage which was dominated by stage winner Francesco Gavazzi and Edvald Boasson Hagen who completed the overall podium. The world time trial champion will be back for a third year in a row but faces his most difficult task yet as the tough summit finish makes a repeat win more unlikely. Gavazzi will also be back in the race where he took his first win for Astana one year ago while Boasson Hagen has decided to forgo the race this year.

The course

The first edition of the race was criticized for being way too easy for a WorldTour race. Last year, the organizers tried to make things tougher but the queen stage never lived up to expectations and the only major difference was made by Martin's strong solo attack on a day that wasn't expected to be the decider. Having learnt from their previous experiences, the organizers have put together an even tougher route for the 2013 edition which is all set to come down to a spectacular summit finish on the penultimate day.

The race kicks off on Friday with a 190,5km stage from the Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Shunyi northeast of Beijing to Huairou Studio City. The stage consists of a journey to the east where the riders do a small loop to climb the day's only categorized ascent (category 3, 1,3km, 4,5%) before turning around and heading back along the same roads towards the site of the start. Before they reach their departure place, they turn right and head to Huairou where the cameras will be treated to some beautiful views of the many reservoirs in the area. The stage is almost entirely flat and a bunch sprint is an almost guaranteed outcome of the first stage.

The peloton heads into hillier terrain on Saturday's long 201,5km second stage from Huairou Studio City to Yanquing. From  the start, the riders head in a northern direction and the roads point upwards right from the beginning as the peloton passes the Great Wall after just a few kilometres. The top of the first category 3 climb (3,7km, 4,8%) is located at the 16km mark and is immediately followed by the first category 2 ascent of the race (4km, 5,6%). A descent leads to a long flat stretch as the riders continue their northern journey but things get more complicated when they turn left to head towards the finish in Yanquing. First up is a category 2 climb (4,4km, 5,5%) whose descent is followed by a long  section of slightly ascending roads. The final difficulty is the day's third category 2 climb Yan Shan Tian Chi (5km, 5,6%) but it is followed by 51km which consist of a short descent and a long, flat section to the finish. The climbing is probably located too far from the finish to make a difference and with a tough mountain finish still to come, the main contenders will be keen to keep their powder dry. Another sprint finish is the likely outcome of the second stage.

Sunday's 176km third stage is a very hilly affair and has a route that is up or down almost all day. From the start in yesterday's finishing city, the riders head along flat roads in an eastern direction but things get complicated when they turn to the south to get into hillier terrain. First up is a category 3 climb (2,4km, 5%) at the 23,5km mark but the road continues to point upwards for a little longer before a long descent takes the riders back to the Great Wall. The passage of the edifice consists of two category 3 climbs, Zhuang Ke (3km, 4,4%) and Xie Zi Shi (2,3km, 5,3%), which come in quick succession. A long descent leads to the southernmost point of the route where the riders turn around to head in a northeastern direction. They will tackle one of the steepest climb of the entire race, the category 2 Sha Ling (3,4km, 6%) before continuing to the first category 1 climb of the race, Si Hai (7,4km, 5,1%) that brings them past the Great Wall for the second time. At the top, the riders tackle a long gradual descent that leads to the category 2 Cang Mi Gu Dao (4,6km, 5,2%) whose top is located 43,5km from the finish. They consist of a descent and a long section of slightly ascending roads that lead to the final difficulty of the day. The category 3 Huang Tu Liang (2km, 4,3%) is the perfect launch pad for attacks and from its top, only 11km remain. They consist of a short descent and a flat stretch to the finish at the Ciao Young Temple in Qiandiajian. The many climbs will rule out all but the strongest sprinters and we are likely to see an aggressive race on the final climb. The major difficulties are, however, all located too far from the finish to be the scene for major attacks and so the favourites are likely to finish the stage in the same time.

Unless something unexpected happens, the GC is set to come down to Monday's fourth stage which is the toughest in the history of the Tour of Beijing. For the second day in a row, the riders will take off from Yanqing and like yesterday they will head in a southern direction as they travel towards the hills west of Beijing. The first 12km are slightly ascending and are followed by a long descent that takes the riders past the Great Wall in Badaling where Francesco Gavazzi won the queen stage one year ago. After a short, flat section, the riders turn right to head into the hills and up the category 1 Xian Ren Dong Village climb (7,7km, 5,5%). At the top, a short section of slightly descending roads precede the steepest climb in the race, the category 2 Gao Ya Kou (3,5km, 7,1%), which is followed by a steep descent that takes the riders back to the northern outskirts of Beijing. From there, they will continue along flat roads in a southern direction for around 40km before they turn back into the hills. The category 3 Chen Jia Zhuang (1km, 4,6%) will serve as a small appetizer for the main difficulty, the category 1 Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain (12,6km, 5,7%). While it is not overly steep, it is a very long climb that has the potential to do some damage on some tired legs at the end of a long season. The stage will be won by a climber and the winner is very likely to also take the overall victory one day later in Beijing.

Only one stage has been part of the route for all three editions of the race: the 117km stage that takes the riders from Tian An Men Square in central Beijing to a circuit around the Beijing National Stadium and a finish on Bird's Nest Piazza. The first 17,5km bring the riders from the city centre to the circuit in the northern part of the city and they will cross the finish line for the first time 6km later. Then they will do 12 laps on the 7,5km circuit that is rather non-technical and completely flat. It's a classical end to a big stage race and is guaranteed to end in a big bunch sprint for the fastest riders in the race. In 2011, the stage also ended the race when Denis Galimzyanov took the win while the stage opened last year's edition of the race with Elia Viviani riding himself into the first leader's jersey. This year it will bring both the race and the 2013 edition of the WorldTour to a close in beautiful surroundings.

The weather

China will generally greet the WorldTour peloton with nice weather but an unpleasant surprise may be in store for Monday's queen stage. Tomorrow, the race should kick off in beautiful sunshine with the temperatures reaching a maximum 21 degrees at the midpoint of the day. Things will be made more complicated by a rather strong wind from a southwestern direction which will mostly give the riders a cross-tailwind in the first part of the stage and a cross-headwind in the second half.

Saturday and Sunday should offer almost identical conditions. The bright sunshine from the opening day will be replaced by a cloudy sky but the riders won't have to deal with any kind of rain. It will be slightly warmer than on the opening day with a maximum temperature of 23 degrees while there will be a light wind from a northern direction which means that the riders will have more head- than tailwind on both days.

Monday's queen stage may be an unpleasant affair. The riders will not only have to tackle the many climbs, they will also have to deal with wet and rainy conditions. Furthermore, the day is expected to be a cold one with the maximum temperature likely to be around 13 degrees. A moderate wind will be blowing from a northeastern direction which means that the riders will generally have a cross-tailwind.

The race is set to finish on a beautiful, sunny Tuesday in Beijing. It will be a cold day with temperatures not expected to exceed the 15-degree mark but the riders will be greeted with bright sunshine for the entire stage. Furthermore, there will only be a very light wind from a northeastern direction and so the riders couldn't wish better weather conditions for what will be the final day of racing for most of them.

The favourites

Tony Martin would love to make it three in a row but the German faces his toughest ask yet. All is set to be decided in the stage 4 summit finish and the final climb is so tough that the race is likely to be won by a climber. As several teams have sent strong in-form uphill specialists to the race, the win is set to be fiercely contested and Martin's dominance is likely to be broken.

However, the Martin name could very well figure as the winner of the 2013 edition as well. Tony's namesake Daniel has shown great form recently and has all the characteristics to win on this year's course. The Irishman has a habit of performing well in October and has finished 2nd in Il Lombardia, 1st and 2nd in Japan Cup, 2nd in Giro dell'Emilia and 4th in the Tour of Beijing during the last three seasons. He was unfortunate to crash out of the Vuelta but used an aggressive showing in the Tour of Britain to rebuild his form and has reached his usual high level for the late-season races.

Like many others, he was unfortunate to crash out of the world championships but he put his condition on show last Sunday when he finished 4th in Il Lombardia after having made it into the trio that was in pursuit of eventual winner Joaquim Rodriguez. He had to let Alejandro Valverde go on the descent and was unfortunate to crash in the final corner as he would otherwise have had no trouble beating Rafal Majka in the sprint for the final podium place. With no time trial, Martin could not have wished a better course for the Beijing race and he has the added advantage of a fast sprint that could allow him to take bonus seconds if a small group will sprint for the win on stage 3 and to take the win on the queen stage if the 5,7% gradient is not enough to separate the strongest climbers. Those characteristics make him a perfect fit to this year's edition of the Tour of Beijing and Martin could very well take his second WolrdTour stage race win following his earlier triumph in the Volta a Catalunya.

One of his biggest rivals is likely to be Ivan Basso. The veteran Italian bounced back from the disappointment of missing the Giro by putting in a strong showing in the early part of the Vuelta a Espana where he appeared to be a genuine winner candidate. He had what he described as the biggest disappointment of his career when he left the race due to hypothermia and was dealt another blow when he wasn't selected for the world championships.

Last Sunday, he showed that he is still in splendid condition as he mixed it up with the best on a short, explosive climb that didn't suit him too well. The Tour of Beijing is his penultimate chance to take a victory in a disappointing season - he well bring things to a close in the Japan Cup - and the longer climb and absence of a time trial will suit him well. However, he would probably have preferred a harder course and it remains a question whether Monday's finishing climb is hard enough for Basso to make use of his splendid climbing abilities to drop his rivals.

The third big favourite for the race is Robert Gesink. Following a disappointing first half of the season, the Dutchman returned with a bang in the Canadian WorldTour races where he was arguably the strongest climber. He won in Quebec and rode away from his rivals on the hardest climb in Montreal before being reeled in. That marked him out as a danger man for the world championships but he never fulfilled his own expectations in the battle for the rainbow jersey. He bounced back with a solid showing in Il Lombardia where he was 10th and is clearly still going strong at this time of the year. The course suits him down to the ground and Gesink may use his final opportunity to show that he is still a splendid stage race rider despite his many disappointments earlier in the season.

Question marks linger over the head of world champion Rui Costa. He impressed the entire world with his fantastic riding in the world championships but one week later, he delivered an unspectacular performance in Il Lombardia. The many post-Worlds commitments may have taken its toll on the Portuguese who was dropped on the flat run-in to the final climb.

He is now back in a captaincy role for the Tour of Beijing and is likely to be eager to finish his time with Movistar in the best possible way. His good condition cannot have completely disappeared and if he is up for the challenge, the route suits him well. Like Martin, he may benefit from his fast sprint should the finishing climb on Monday not be hard enough to separate the strongest climbers.

Michael Rogers crashed out of the Brussels Cycling Classic at a time when he was building form for the world championships and missed the rainbow jersey race as a consequence. However, he surprised many when he returned to competition in Italy last week. In Il Lombardia, his fast pace on the brutally steep Muro di Sormano put several top level climbers in difficulty and he showed strength when he was one of the key riders that did the work to catch Thomas Voeckler on the run-in to the final climb. In Beijing, he will get the chance to ride for himself and he has shown confidence in his own form by stating that a top 5 result should be within his grasp. If he can build on Sunday's performance, he may even end higher up the ranking as he is both a good climbers and a fast finisher.

Richie Porte is another rider with question marks lingering over his head. At his best, the Australian would probably be the big favourite to win the race but after a hard spring schedule, he has never hit his best form for the final part of the season. He has himself admitted that he enters the race with a relaxed mindset, knowing that his form may not be good enough to contend with the best. We missed the chance to gauge his form at the world championships when he crashed out of that race and he hasn't pinned on a number since. The most likely outcome is that he is not up for the challenge but he is such a splendid climber that a Porte win cannot be ruled out.

If Rui Costa is not up for the challenge, Movistar has another strong card to play. Giovanni Visconti showed great form at the world championships where he rode aggressively to tire out Vincenzo Nibali's rivals ahead of The Shark's stinging attack. On Sunday, he did a good work to whittle down the group of favourites on the final climb despite having gone down in a crash a bit earlier.

Visconti may mostly be known as a classics rider but he is actually a good climber as well. He proved so when he won the Galibier stage in the Giro and when he mixed it up with the best on the toughest climbs in the Tour de Suisse. Furthermore, he has a very fast sprint that may allow him to come out on top should a small group arrive at the finish together on Monday's decisive stage.

It would be a mistake to completely rule out Tony Martin. The world time trial champion may not be suited to this course but he is certainly one of the riders in best condition at the moment. He proved that when he defended his two world titles and when he rode a very aggressively Münsterland Giro last week. Martin will have to ride aggressively on stages 2 and 3 to possible gain a bit of time ahead of the mountaintop finish where he will find it difficult to win. That's what he did last year and that's what he may do again. Everybody knows that he cannot be allowed any leeway at all and he could benefit from depleted and tired squads towards the end of a long season. While he may not win the queen stage, he is a solid climber and he will be hard to drop on the gentle gradients. If he enters Monday's stage with a small advantage, he will be able to defend himself.

If Richie Porte is not up for the challenge, Sky has another weapon in their arsenal. David Lopez has mostly worked as a domestique this season and most recently did so in the Tour of Britain where he finished 4th despite supporting Bradley Wiggins. He showed splendid condition on the climbs in that race and has reportedly maintained his good form for the Beijing race. He is a past winner of a tough stage in the Vuelta and has won the very tough queen stage of the Deutschland Tour in the past and has all the skills to shine in the uphill finish on Monday. He will relish the chance to ride for himself and take a rare personal result at a time when he appears to have rediscovered the form that allowed him to ride extremely well in the early part of the season.

Finally, we would point to Ag2r as a dark horse for the race. The French team is in search of WorldTour points and knows that the Tour of Beijing is a good opportunity to bolster the tally. Hence, they have lined up what is probably the strongest team of the entire race with Romain Bardet, Rinaldo Nocentini, Jean-Christophe Peraud, Carlos Betancur and Christophe Riblon all potential GC riders. Among those 5, Bardet is the most likely to shine as he has shown better form than his teammates. He rode well in the Canadian WorldTour races and finished 28th in the world championships. His performance in such a long race proves that he is riding well and he couldn't have designed a better course. It may difficult for him to win the race but he is certainly a solid podium candidate.

***** Daniel Martin

**** Ivan Basso, Robert Gesink

*** Rui Costa, Michael Rogers, Richie Porte

**Giovanni Visconti, Tony Martin, David Lopez, Romain Bardet

*Carlos Betancur, Christophe Riblon, Mikel Landa, Wilco Kelderman, Rinaldo Nocentini