A pack of riders cycle past Tian'anmen Square during the fifth stage of the first UCI Tour of Beijing cycling race in Beijing, Oct 9, 2011. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING - Germany's Tony Martin of team HTC-Highroad won the first-ever Tour of Beijing as Russian star Denis Galimzyanov of team Katusha took the last stage on Sunday.

Galimzyanov sprited in the last 500 meters, snatching the fifth stage of 118km from Tian'anmen Square to the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium.

"Of course I am very happy because it is my first victory on the pro tour. I am in good condition and I did my job but today was my last race for the season and to win the race is amazing," Galimzyanov said.

Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo of team Saxo-Bank placed second, followed by Italian Elia Viviani of Liquigas-Cannondale in third.

The German world time-trial champion Martin maintained his lead in overall standing since the first day's time trail, beating British David Millar of Garmin-Cervelo by 17 seconds, while another British Chris Froome of Sky Procycling placed third with nine seconds further back.

"It's been a fantastic year and now is a fantastic week for me, " Martin said.

"It's really nice to have a victory and it makes me so proud to win the first race in Beijing. We had a very strong team and I have to thank them for the win," added Martin.

Ben King of team Radioshacks kept his white jersey (for the young rider classification) he won in Yong Ning on Friday.

"This is really special for me. It is my first World Tour stage race and it has been an incredible experience to have my teammates taking care of me," said the 22-year old American.

Igor Anton of team Eskaltel Euskadis became the King of Mountains with a total of 22 points, beating Lloyd Mondory of team AG2R-La Mondiale by four points.

Sky Procycling topped the overall team classification in 40 hours 58 minutes and 58 seconds, followed by Omega Pharma-Lotto in 40:59:57, and the third place went to Rabobank Cycling team in 41:00:06.

The Tour of Beijing is the first of its kind in Asia. The inaugural Tour of Beijing started and finished at the Olympic Park and included international tourism landmarks such as Tian'anmen Square, the Bird's Nest Stadium, Summer Palace, Great Wall and Ming Tomb Reservoir.

The 2011 Tour of Beijing is the last stage race on the 2011 UCI World Tour calendar, finishing six days before the final event of the season, the one-day Giro di Lombardia (Italy) on October 15.

Germany's Tony Martin of the HTC-Highroad team (2nd L) celebrates as the overall winner with runner-up Britain's David Millar (L) of team Garmin-Cervelo and second runner-up British Chris Froome (2nd R) of team Sky Procycling during the awarding ceremony of the first UCI Tour of Beijing cycling race in Beijing, Oct 9, 2011. [Photo/CFP]

Helicopter incident knocks rider out

A low-flying helicopter sent a sign board into the path of Yannick Eijssen and the Belgian rider was knocked out of the Tour of Beijing in the freak incident last Friday.

Eijssen was then hit by a TV motorbike that was following the peloton, his BMC Racing team said.

He suffered facial abrasions in the accident, which occurred in the final descent of the third stage, won by Ireland's Nicolas Roche.