Tour of Beijing (st. 5)

Rui Costa holds on to 9th place overall in China after challenging stage five, won by Cummings (BMC) as Tony Martin (OPQ) took overall - Portuguese closes 2012 in UCI's top-ten alongside Valverde as Movistar Team takes 5th in WorldTour ranking

No changes were seen at the leading overall places of the 2012 Tour of Beijing after a fifth, final day over 182 kilometers between Changping and Ping Gu with four categorized ascents. Tony Martin (OPQ) claimed back-to-back victories in the Chinese race as Movistar Team confirmed here their brilliant results after a long season in cycling’s top tier. Rui Costa stayed in 9th overall after keeping the focus and confidence at the last major climb, Si Zuo Lou (Cat. 1), and making it into a 30-man group that pursued with no success the remnants of the day’s break, Ryder Hesjedal (GRM) and day’s winner Steve Cummings (BMC).

Seventeen seconds back and with no compromise over his GC top ten -the sixth for the Iberian on a World Tour event this season after Romandie (3rd), Suisse (overall winner), Plouay (2nd), Québec (3nd) and Montréal (9th)-, Costa conserved his privileged position in the UCI ranking’s best ten, the second rider after Alejandro Valverde (5th) from Movistar Team, which conclude their brilliant 2012 season -29 wins- in the fifth place of the collective world classification.