Despite having only retired from professional cycling last month, Alberto Contador has been tempted to get back on his bike for one last race.
Contador will take part in the first edition of Le Tour de France Škoda China Critérium on October 29.
The Spaniard will appear alongside 2017 Tour winner Chris Froome (Team Sky), Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors).
The race is a standard criterium format, taking place on a three-kilometre circuit in Shanghai. Twenty laps of the route will give spectators the maximum opportunity to see the big stars many times over.
>>> Alberto Contador: ‘I could have won all three Grand Tours in the same year’
There will be no big mountains to allow Contador or Froome to engage in one final climbing contest, but there's a relatively high chance that they will be involved in a crowd-pleasing attack or possibly be involved in the sprint finish.
The event is being been put on by Tour organiser ASO in conjunction with local organisations.
Watch: Highlights of Alberto Contador's win on stage 20 of the 2017 Vuelta a España
Contador closed out his Grand Tour career at the 2017 Vuelta a España riding for Trek-Segafredo, where he memorably won the final mountain stage of the race on the summit finish of Alto de l'Angliru.
The 34-year-old ends his career with two Tour de France overall wins, two in the Giro d'Italia and three in the Vuelta.
