Video: Galimzyanov targets the Olympics in 2012
Russian is ambitious after winning Tour of Beijing's final stage
The Tour of Beijing has been a showcase for cycling's young sprinters. Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale), 22, won Saturday's stage while Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha), 24, claimed victory on Sunday in the shadow of the "Water Cube".
"That's the last race of the season and my first WorldTour victory," the Russian told Cyclingnews in a video interview. "It's incredible."
Second on Thursday, only beaten by Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo), Galimzyanov held his motivation and his strong team's support.
"All the team helped me, brought me to the front," he said. "Andrei Tchmil is a good manager, too, he did a lot for me."
Earlier this week, his team manager Andrei Tchmil had told Cyclingnews his whole squad was dedicated to his young sprinter at the Tour of Beijing. "It's important he wins as he will get even more motivated to 'faire le métier' in winter and have a strong 2012 season."
About his coming schedule, Galimzyanov says he certainly will start at the Tour of Qatar and then prepare for the Olympic Games in August.
The Russian sprinter may prove to be a challenger to Mark Cavendish on the London circuit in the event, of course, the race finishes in a bunch sprint.
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