Defending champion Martin wins second stage of Tour of Beijing

Germany's defending champion Tony Martin from team Omega Pharma-QuickStep claimed victory in the second stage of the Tour of Beijing with a powerful finish here on Wednesday. The two-time time trial world champion made a break away from the lead group in the final 30 kilometers in the 126km course, starting from the Bird's Nest, the iconic 2008 Olympics venue to Mentougou Yongdinghe Plaza, northwest of Beijing. Martin held off the chasing pack to finish in two hours 53 minutes and five seconds, 46 seconds ahead of the second Astana's Francesco Gavazzi and the third Ero Capecchi of Liuigas. The unexpected victory in the climbing stage made Martin "very happy". "Incredible, my goal is to make a break and stay in the front today, but I don't expect to win. So I'm happy. Nice to be back again," said Martin, who won the inaugural Tour of Beijing last year as he took the lead in the first stage and never looked back. Martin also takes the overall lead with a 50-second lead of Gavazzi in the general classification of the five-stage race. As part of the International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour, the Tour of Beijing automatically draws the participation of the 18 UCI Pro Teams. China also organized its own continental Pro team to participate in the race. Home favorite Xu Gang ranked 104th among 139 riders as the highest-ranking Chinese riders. The five-day race, the first of its kind in Asia, kicked off at the Tiananmen Square on Tuesday and includes international tourism landmarks.