Spain's Benat Intxausti won the Tour of Beijing on Tuesday, as Slovenian Luka Mezgec edged out Nacer Bouhanni in the event's final metres to deny the French sprinter a third-stage victory.
Red jersey Intxausti, whose powerful attack in Monday's hill stage had given him the overall lead, came home safely in the peloton to take the title for his Movistar team, who also include Portugal's world champion Rui Costa. It was Intxausti's second major success of the year after he won the 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia.
Bouhanni, who had won two of the first four stages, made his move just a few metres too early outside the Bird's Nest stadium in the capital, and Mezgec (Argos-Shimano) overtook him to win by a bike length.
The 117-kilometre fifth stage from Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Nest, featuring 12 laps of an essentially flat loop circuit, was always likely to end in a bunch finish.
With a 10-second bonus available for the stage win, Germany's Tony Martin, the London Olympics silver medallist who had won the first two editions of the event but was 24 seconds behind Intxausti overall, made a brave last-ditch attempt to retain his title with just over three kilometres to go. But he was pegged back, leaving the sprinters to duel for line honours.
Bouhanni, 23, of Francaise des Jeux, took the green jersey for the points competition.