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Rominger puts China Tour at the top of his agenda

Swiss ace Tony Rominger will head the field for this year's Kent Tour of China, which starts rolling on Hong Kong's Stonecutters Island on November 1.

Rominger, the former world one-hour record holder who was second in last year's Tour de France, will be joined by defending champion Viatcheslav Ekimov for the Tour, which organisers are hoping will become as significant to Asia as the Tour de France is to the world.

American Steve Hegg, a former downhill skier and third overall last year, is also returning.

'The Tour of China is a very exciting race for me,' said Rominger. 'It is new, takes a challenging route through China and the interest is high. I'm really looking forward to it.' Ekimov, who defeated Italian Daniele Nardello for last year's title, said: 'Winning the inaugural race last year was a great honour for me.

'Some stages were particularly tough and the competition was intense. No one really knew what to expect and we were all very impressed.' Hegg, a former Olympic champion, will be riding for the USPro team this year.

'Last year's tour was extremely exciting with many challenging stages,' he said.

'It was also the first major cycling event to be held in Asia. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful sights as we raced through China.' Hong Kong's Wong Kam-po is also expected to compete in the hope of making up for last year's disappointment, when he was knocked out in the second stage in Guangdong after a crash 30 metres from the finish line.

The Kent China team are currently training in their camp in Changping for the US$200,000 event.

China's coach Phil Anderson said the team will also spend some time training in Australia.

'I am determined to get these guys in great shape. They have enormous potential.

'I can't wait to get them down to the open spaces of Australia and really get working on them.

'They are very strong on the road, but it is important to develop all their skills and not only focus on their strengths.' Rominger, one of the world's top cyclists, held the world one-hour distance of 55.291 kilometres for two years until Englishman Chris Boardman took the record away from him recently in Manchester with 56.3759 kilometres.

However, soon after Boardman's feat, Rominger vowed to reclaim the record.

The Danish-born Swiss is currently competing in the Tour of Spain, which completed its eighth stage yesterday, although he failed to finish among the top 20 of either the stage or overall standings.

Top sprinters Adriano Baffi, Malcolm Elliot and Marcel Wust have expressed interest in competing in China, as well as climbers Andrea Peron of Motorola and US Postal Service's Mike Engleman.

The entry deadline is October 10.

The event is fifth in importance behind the Tour de France, Tour Dupont, the Tour of Spain and the Giro, the Tour of Italy. Competitors will speed through the southeastern province of Guangdong and the bustling town of Guangming, and cross the Maiyun Mountains before heading to the Seven Star Lake at Zhaoqing.

A rest day will follow before the 80-plus riders head for Shanghai. An individual time trial at Pudong will be followed by a road race from Xinzhuang to Lake Tai.

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