A change of parcours focusing on tougher climbs and challenging terrain will see AG2R La Mondiale line up with a versatile team of climbers and all-rounders for the Tour of Beijing next week.

2013 Tour de France stage winner Christophe Riblon will be joined by French compatriots Jean-Christophe Péraud and Romain Bardet in an open line-up that will keep the peloton guessing about the team’s plan of action.

Riblon was one of the stars of the Tour de France this year, conquering the famed L’Alpe d’Huez with a stage 18 victory. His aggressive move to attack on one of the steepest climbs in the race is one of the lasting images of the centenary edition of the French Grand Tour.

Péraud and Bardet give AG2R La Mondiale additional options. Péraud in particular will expect a high overall result having finished seventh overall in 2011 while Bardet looms as a rider to watch for the future, with the 22-year-old finishing 15th overall at the Tour de France this year.

Not to be outdone Columbian climber Carlos Betancur will also have high hopes of challenging for the leader’s red jersey.

Betancur has had an impressive 2013, winning the white jersey as the best young rider at the Giro d’Italia and finishing fifth overall. The 23-year-old was also impressive at the Belgian Classics early in the year, finishing third at the La Flèche Wallonne and fourth at the famed Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Identifying the stage four mountain top finish on Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain as the stage most likely to shape the overall standings of the 2013 Tour of Beijing, AG2R La Mondiale sport director Julien Jurdie is hesitant to identify a designated leader.

“This year, the course is innovative because there’s no individual time-trial scheduled. It’s also a selective course with three difficult stages and one of which is a summit finish after a long climb of 12km,” Jurdie said.

“The overall standings should be in part decided on this stage. There are also two stages favourable to breakaways and we will have to be on the offensive. It will be our motto during this Tour of Beijing. As usual we will line up at the start with the aim of obtaining a top five overall and obviously get a stage win. It’s difficult to appoint a single leader for the overall classification because we have several trump cards with riders such as Romain Bardet, Carlos Betancur, Jean-Christophe Péraud or Christophe Riblon.”

Italian Rinaldo Nocentini looms as the all-rounder that could surprise. One of the most consistent riders at AG2R La Mondiale, Nocentini thrives in the tough conditions and showed his quality at the 2009 Tour de France by taking control of the prestigious leader’s yellow jersey for eight consecutive stages.

In Blel Kadri and Maxime Bouet AG2R La Mondiale have another two quality all-rounders who regularly feature in the breakaways, while three-time Belarus champion Yauheni Hutarovich will be the rider to watch for in the sprint finishes and completes a strong team.

The 2013 Tour of Beijing will be held from the 11th to the 15th of October as the last event on the UCI WorldTour calendar. The five day, 836 kilometre route is opportunistic and takes in breath-taking views of the Great Wall, Beijing’s mountain terrain and embraces key tourism attractions such as Tiananmen Square and the Bird’s Nest.

AG2R La Mondiale line-up for the 2013 Tour of Beijing:

Romain Bardet (FRA, 22)

Bardet is a young climber who represents a great future hope for France in the Grand Tours. After finishing second in the under 23 at the 2011 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Bardet turned professional the following year and has had some promising results, finishing fifth overall in 2012 Tour of Turkey. He was the fourth best young rider and 15th overall at the 2013 Tour de France.

Carlos Betancur (COL, 24)

An emerging climber, who underlined his potential in the Grand Tours by winning the white jersey as the best young rider and finishing fifth overall at this year’s Giro d’Italia. Also had top-five finishes at both the La Fleche Wallonne (3rd) and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège (4th).

Maxime Bouet (FRA, 26)

A consistent all-round rider who has steadily improved his overall position at the Tour de France since debut in 2009, finishing runner-up on a stage in 2010. A dedicated worker for the team.

Yauheni Hutarovich (BLR, 29)

A three-time national champion of Belarus, the sprinter surprised many with his first Grand Tour stage win at 2010 Vuelta a España. The same year he also won two stages of the Tour Mediterranéen and one at the Tour of Poland. In 2011 he finished second in the classic Paris-Brussels and a year later represented Belarus at the 2012 Olympics.

Blel Kadri (FRA, 26)

A hard working valuable team member who is admired for his consistency. Won the mountains classification at the 2012 Route du Sud and this year won the most combative rider for stage two of the Tour de France. His biggest victory came in March this year triumphing in the Roma Maxima.

Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA, 35)

Wore the leader's yellow jersey at the 2009 Tour de France for eight consecutive stages after participating in a long breakaway and went on to finish 14th overall. An all-round rider, Nocentini finished sixth overall in the Tour of Beijing last year, following on from high finishes in the Tour of Poland, Amstel Gold Race, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Fleche Wallonne.

Jean-Christophe Péraud (FRA, 36)

A relative late-comer to road racing after switching from a distinguished career in mountain bike, winning the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His switch came with immediate success, with an upset win in the 2009 French time trial championship. Is a proven climber, finishing ninth overall in the 2011 Tour de France and this year won a stage of the Tour Méditerranéen and finished third overall in the Paris-Nice. He finished seventh overall in the 2011 Tour of Beijing.

Christophe RIBLON (FRA, 32)

A hard-working veteran who produced the biggest victory of his career at the Tour de France this year to win the stage up the historic climb of L’Alpe d'Huez. Also a track specialist, winning silver in the points race and Madison at the 2008 and 2010 world championships respectively.