UCI President Brian Cookson had criticised the subsidiary body during his election campaign,[1] and the Tour of Beijing was not seen as being well-liked by cyclists.

According to Cycling Weekly, "Dull routes and an absence of roadside spectators meant the race failed to exhibit much of an atmosphere, and its position at the very end of the calendar made it even less appealing – a long flight eastwards after a whole season's racing is a very tough sell to exhausted cyclists dreaming of the winter off.

On September 10 it emerged that Valentin Iglinsky of Astana Pro Team had returned a positive test for EPO[3] at the Eneco Tour.

He confessed to doping to the team and was immediately sacked,[4] three weeks later Valentin's brother, Maxim Iglinsky was provisionally suspended by the UCI for an EPO positive on August 1.

However, the combination of Valverde's success and Contador's injury at the Giro di Lombardia, the previous race on the calendar, meant that in the end neither cyclist attended the Tour of Beijing.