If he gets a bike on time and recovers from what sounds like a ridiculous journey, Dan Martin will be one of the hottest favourites for the Tour of Beijing which starts on Friday.
Last weekend's Tour of Lombardy winner, Dan Martin’s trip to China for the Tour of Beijing has not exactly gone according to plan thus far.
After a nine and a half hour flight, Martin and his Garmin Sharp teammates found their bikes held up by customs and were forced to drive to their hotel without them.
The 300km journey by road turned into a nightmare when the team found themselves back at the airport after one hour of driving and ‘six u-turns’.
The squad eventually arrived at their destination after a whopping nine and a half hour drive which, when added to a nine hour flight from Paris, saw them spend a mammoth 18 and a half hours in total traveling to the race.
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With the Tour of Beijing due to start on Friday morning, and Martin one of the pre-race favourites after his solo victory at the Tour of Lombardy, the squad are now into their second day in China but still haven’t received their bikes.
Martin tweeted today: “Still no sign of bike. Boredom setting in. Steele von Hoff bought a helicopter. Carnage to ensue. Better than riding anyway ha”
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The five-day race begins on Friday morning with a 167km opening stage from Chon Li to Zhangjiako.
But it is Monday’s penultimate stage to the top of the first category at Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain that is expected to sort out the men from the boys.
Let’s hope Martin and his squad have their bikes back by then.
Dan Martin on his way to 4th overall and the climbers’ classification win at the Tour of Beijing in 2012.
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