China's capital will host cycling's elite peloton for the next four years with the inaugural Tour of Beijing in October set to become Asia's first stop on the WorldTour calendar. International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid and Beijing vice mayor Liu Jingmin signed the agreem ent in London on Wednesday, the UCI said on its "The Tour of Beijing is a significant step in the UCI's policy of the globalisation of cycling," McQuaid said.

"Like other countries in this continent, China is fast establishing an important place for itself in the world of cycling, and we are extremely satisfied to be able to finalise this project. "I'm sure UCI's know-how and (the) Chinese's enthusiasm will make this new event a very successful one.

The Chinese stage race follows the addition of Australia's Tour Down Under to the elite ProTour in 2008 and two Canadian events last year, the Quebec and Montreal grands prix.

The ProTour and Historic races were amalgamated into the single WorldTour calendar for 2011. The Tour of Beijing will be the WorldTour's last stage race, finishing six days before the final event of the season, the one-day Giro di Lombardia in Italy on Oct. 15.