Astana Cycling Team

Being the inaugural edition of the event, there is some deal of intrigue for all teams about the 2011 Tour of Beijing.

For Pro team Astana’s Sport Director, Dmitry Sedoun there is even a little uncertainty about how his own squad might respond.

“The first stages will define which one from our men is in the best condition to compete for the general classification. First, the time trial of 11km should separate our riders with a few seconds and then the third stage with a uphill finish should be very selective and will be decisive for the general ranking,” Sedoun said.

“Simon Clarke made a good season and is still in good condition, also I think (late addition) Andriy Grivko should be in shape because he trained a lot lately.

“Maxim Iglinskiy (a veteran of all three grant tours) can have his card to play, whilst his brother, Valentin Iglinskiy can run for the sprints, the race’s course offers three opportunities for the sprinters.”

The team is completed by Italy’s Enrico Gasparotto; Estonian Tanel Kangert and two Kazakh riders, Sergey Renev and Andrey Mizurov, at 38, the oldest man on the Tour.

Mizurov is one of a group of cyclists in the race returning to Beijing after riding here in the Olympics three years ago.

Sedoun says that Astana, like all participating teams in a WorldTour race, will be involved at 100 percent, but in his case with a clear aim for a top 10 finish overall.

With one of the more experienced squads at his disposal, with an average age of nearly 28, any of his riders could do the job for him.

Kangert, the team’s best time trialler might be another suited to this race as he is also a good climber, and is well motivated, coming off the Vuelta a España.

Pro Team Astana – 2011 Tour of Beijing

Simon CLARKE (AUS, 25): World junior pursuit champion in 2004, and Australian U23 Road Race Champion in 2008. Signed with Astana in 2011, and will be with GreenEDGE in 2012.

Enrico GASPAROTTO (ITA, 29): Italian road race champion in 2005. Finished 3rd in the 2010 Amstel Gold Race. Part of the team-time-trial win in the 2007 Giro d’Italia (Liquigas) and wore the leader’s pink jersey on stages 1 and 3. Won the sprints classification at the 2009 Tour de Suisse.

Andriy GRIVKO (UKR, 28): Pro since 2005, 5th in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008.  Known as one of the most dedicated team players in professional cycling.  Has ridden all three Grand Tours.

Maxim IGLINSKIY (KAZ, 30): Kazakhstan road race champion in 2007, also 3rd in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Kazakhstan time-trial champion in 2006, also 2nd in 2005. Finished 2nd in Asian road championships in 2004. Professional rider since 2005 (with Astana from 2007) and has ridden all three Grand Tours. Won a stage in 2007 Dauphine Libere. Younger brother Valentin also rides with Astana

Valentin IGLINSKIY (KAZ, 26): 3rd in Kazakhstan road race in 2007, and 2009 Asian championships. Professional with Astana since 2009. Rode in 2010 Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana. Older brother Maxim also rides with Astana

Tanel KANGERT (EST, 24): Estonian time trial champion in 2008 and 2010, and national U23 road race champion in 2007. Finished 2nd in national road race in 2010 and 3rd in 2011. Finished 7th in the world U23 time trial championship in 2007.

Andrey MIZUROV (KAZ, 38): Five-time Kazakhstan road race champion (2001-2004 and 2011), also 2nd in 2000, 2005 and 3rd in 2007. Four-time Kazakhstan time-trial champion (2002, 2008, 2009 and 2010), also 2nd in 2004, 2007, 2011 and 3rd in 2000. Won Asian Games time-trial (2006, 2010), and overall winner of 2005 UCI Asia Tour. Olympian in 2004 and 2008 and won the general classification of 2005 Tour of China.

Sergey RENEV (KAZ, 26): 2nd in Kazakhstan road race championship in 2008. Ridden as a professional with Astana since 2009, including the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.

The inaugural Tour of Beijing will start and finish at Olympic Park from Wednesday 5 October to Sunday, 9 October and will include international tourism landmarks such as Tian An Men Square, the Bird’s Nest Stadium, Summer Palace, Great Wall and Ming Tomb Reservoir.

As part of the UCI WorldTour, the Tour of Beijing will draw the participation of the 18 UCI ProTeams and will be the last stage race on the 2011 WorldTour calendar, finishing six days before the final event of the season, the one-day Giro di Lombardia (ITA) on October 15th.

2011 Tour of Beijing

Stage One – Wednesday 5^th October

Individual Time Trial – 11.3km – Bird’s Nest – Water Cube via Olympic Park circuit

Stage Two – Thursday 6^th October

137km – Bird’s Nest to Men Tou Gou via North Gate of Summer Palace

Stage Three – Friday 7^th October

162km – Men Tou Gou to Yong Ning Town via Thirteen Ming Tombs Reservoir

Stage Four – Saturday 8^th October

189.5km – Yan Qing Gui Chuan Square to Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre via Mutianyu Great Wall

Stage Five – Sunday 9^th October

118km – Tian An Men Square to Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium