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The panda mascot
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Tour of Beijing press conference
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Garmin Sharp at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Europcar at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cannondale opted for jeans for the Tour of Beijing presentation
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lotto Belisol at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lampre-Merida at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Trek at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Belkin at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Movistar on stage at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Orica Greenedge at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
AG2R La Mondiale at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rigoberto Uran at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Omega Pharma-Quickstep at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Omega Pharma-Quickstep heads off stage
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tinkoff-Saxo at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
BMC at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Giant-Shimano at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The panda mascot at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dancers perform at Tour of Beijing team presentation
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Tour of Beijing press conference
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The venue for the Tour of Beijing team presentation
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Journalists at the Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dan Martin gives the panda some head protection
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alain Rumpf
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cheng Ji and Philippe Gilbert
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
An Omega Pharma rider protected from the smog
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Riders were concerned about air pollution, which was at a high level in Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Daniel Martin at the Tour of Beijing press conference
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The venue lit up for the Tour of Beijing gala
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Katusha at the Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Omega Pharma-Quickstep at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dancers perform at Tour of Beijing team presentation
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dancers perform at Tour of Beijing team presentation
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Movistar team at Tour of Beijing
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cycling's top teams were presented in Chongli today for the final edition of the only WorldTour race in China, the Tour of Beijing .
135 riders will line up for the five-stage race, which begins on Friday in Chongli and ends October 14 in Beijing. Only 17 teams are taking part after the Astana squad suspended itself under the rules of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) after two of its riders, Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy, tested positive for EPO and were suspended.
Defending champion Beñat Intxausti with dossard number 1 has a strong Movistar team behind him. Last year's runner up Dan Martin (Garmin Sharp) and winner of last week's Il Lombardia will be looking to unseat the Spaniard.
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For a full preview of the race, click here .
Enjoy this gallery of images from the team presentations by Tim De Waele.
