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.