Division 4, the doorstep league. This is the place where it gets serious. You are facing some heavy competition here.
  Teams that found their momentum after some nice victories in the leagues below. The riders are on fire, they have smelled the taste of victory and want more.
  But also teams that have failed some time to get some points in the higher leagues and have fallen down.
  Suddenly your star is no longer the favourite or your topteam is no longer the team people are look up to, but it is the one, people look down on.
  
  As always division 4 starts of with a sprinters race in Poland. Truskolasy is the hosting town for this race that finishes in
  Kawki. This Polish overture is won by Saudi champion Jabir Majdy (Red Gold Green) ahead of Lance Parr (fritzyhat) and Eric Ingelborgs (Z Test team).
  
  On day 10 we have arrived in Australia where we are starting the Climbs of Omeo, a climbing race that attracts the mountain goats of division 4.
  This years episode ended in a sweet victory for Renaldo Murrieta (Independencia) who defeated with great ease Sergiu Spataru (HiaSports) and Carel Sneijers (Belgina).
  
  10 days later we have changed the mountains for the nice flat roads of Flakebridge for the Flakebridge Street Race in England. Sprinters have gathered here to jump away in the last kilometer of this race.
  Season 18 saw in Lucas Sander (Squiffinator) a great winner who defeated Romano Badillo (Team Ger) and Douglas Crawford (Rigana)
  
  Day 30 is for the hard men in division 4. Cobbles, bumpy roads, wind and rain in Denmark for Skørping - Langå. A great, hard race where only the tough men can survive.
  This years toughest was Yemelyan Smirnov

(skype13). He was all sore but was the happiest of them all after beating Arvel Lebreton (alberta1) and Hein Sanders (Águias do Guadiana) in a "sprint a trois".
  
  Finally, the season is halfway, and there is a Classic starting. Teams have been waiting for this moment a long time and 20 teams are invited and have travelled to the south of France for the annual
  Criterium la Grasse.
  A race that many want to win and that delivered many interesting climbing specialists. This year the big trophee was for Fergal Gipple (The Saturday Boys), his experience made him a victor over Sergiu Spataru (HiaSports) and young upcoming climber Klaus Westby (JV pro cycling).
  
  The race in France is a classic but, the teams that travelled on day 40 to Swaziland instead of France are equally tested in the Palala CLimbs. This African race through the mountains
  is just as tough, and with the scorching sun even more testing for the riders. Joannes Wuets (WD Cycling Team) was the best and received the flowers from the royal representative. He finished ahead of Eddie Ebersold (TheRhys) and Melvyn Comte (RentACar54).
  
  
  
  
  Just now, the French sprinting race Biscarosse Streets finished and delivered a fine winner in Lieni Bergmann (Team demoLOLish) who beat homerider Sophiane Tellier (Tompot) and Turkish star Sabri Rasim (Maniaspor).
  
  
  
  
  But what everybody is hoping for that is in division 4 is an invitation for the 6 day tour in America, the Race of the Minutemen.
  As we write this issue it is still going on and their is a fierce battle between Norwegians new

talent Isak Dammen (nrk) and old timers Goddard Scothern (Telstra) and Aksana Putin (Asymm Project).
  Most bookkeepers think it is Isak Dammen that will shine and take the American tour and you can not bet on him anymore, this is the rider that will push division 4 team nrk forward to the higher leagues.
  This third Race of the Minutemen is having some familiar faces again, we have already mentioned Goddard Scothern and Aksana Putin but, we also see Heiko de Wortelaers (Rabo utrecht CT) last years Youth Classification.
  And if we look in the top 20 now we see great riders that we have seen before, such as Klaus Westby (JV pro cycling) at number 7 and Douglas Crawford (Rigana) at number 16.
  Also at the moment we have the huge amount of 5 riders in the top 20 that are in an American team, and three of them are American.
  This will boost American cycling for sure.
  Another familiar face is skils the former world number one team that has in Douglas Kling a climber that is in 10th place now.
  
  Division 4 is home to many great riders lifting their team to higher grounds and teams that are licking their wounds after the beating they received and are plotting a way to return where they came from.
  This division is starting to become a great league that offers great battles and will be scary for some teams when they first arrive.
  We believe division 4 will be stronger and stronger, competition brings the best, and worst, in every man. Especially when he has been on a bike for 100 kilometers.
  50 Days have passed, 40 days are to come. 3 Classics are still on the calender. Who will rocket up and who will crash down. That is what every team is thinking and they all hope they are in the first category, but we know, not all can be in that category.
  And so do the teams know.
  
  Written by Finz from NightmareChaos, division 4 updater to OCM Magazine