2014 Tour of Beijing route revealed

Tour of Beijing organisers have dubbed the route for the 2014 event as the hardest yet with a bolstered queen stage featuring in the four-day race.

The tour is the final event on the UCI WorldTour calendar and will run from the 10-14 of October starting in Chongli and finishing at Bird’s Nest Stadium.

An additional two climbs have been added to the penultimate stage, which features the 12km-long ascent to the Mentougou Miaofeng summit finish. The 175km trek is again expected to determine the general classification as it did last season with Benat Intxausti (Movistar) prevailing over Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) for stage and overall honours.

2014 Tour of Beijing route:

Friday 10th October, stage one: Chongli – Zhangjiakou, 167km

Undulating stage at altitude that includes three categorised climbs. Strong cross-winds tipped.

Saturday 11th October, stage two: Chongli – Yanqing, 147.5km

Flat stage featuring two category three climbs, the last of which is 64km before the finish.

Sunday 12th October, stage three: Yanqing – Qianjiadian Chao Yang Temple, 176km

This is the longest stage of the tour and undulating. It features seven categorised climbs including the category one Si Hai.

Monday 13th October, stage four: Yanqing - Miaofeng, 157km

Features a passage through the Great Wall of China before the category one Xian Ren climb at 61km. It is quickly followed by the Gao Ya Kou. There are three further categorised climbs just before the start of the final 12km Miaofeng Mountain to the summit finish.

Tuesday 14th October, stage five: Tiananmen Square - Bird’s Nest, 117km

The now traditional final stage route travels from the historic Tiananmen Square and onto a fast 12-lap circuit around the Olympic precinct.