Lotto Belisol hoping Henderson can shine in Beijing

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The Lotto Belisol squad has named its eight-man team for the upcoming WorldTour finale, the Tour of Beijing in China, and is looking for sprinter Greg Henderson to represent the team in what is expected to be a sprint-friendly first stage.

Directeur Sportif Michiel Elijzen said that without the opening time trial and an expected bunch sprint on the first stage, he is counting on the Kiwi.

"Greg Henderson is one of the fast men on the participants list, so hopefully he can play a significant role," Elijzen said.

Also heading up the team will be Australian Adam Hansen, who is at the end of a busy season that included his participation in each of the three Grand Tours, as well as neo-pro Tim Wellens.

"Tim is a good climber and gives us the opportunity to see how far he can get. He is highly motivated and showed a lot of character in Lombardy."

Wellens agreed that the course could suit him. "I like to climb, but it remains to be seen how much I can stand in a WorldTour stage race," he said. "This is the ideal opportunity to see what the relationship is between my level and that of more experienced riders. For me it is very difficult to predict what is possible, but it is a dream to be in a WorldTour race."

The Tour of Beijing kicks off from Tiananmen Square on October 9.

Lotto Belisol for Tour of Beijing: Kenny Dehaes, Gert Dockx, Adam Hansen, Greg Henderson, Maartin Neyens, Mehdi Sohrabi, Joost Van Leijen, Tim Wellens