Drama, surprise, fights, epic results, master management and big transfers. This is just a small part from another epic season in OCM. For the books this season will be remembered for the 5 years from OCM. Who got a place in the books? Let’s have a look at the highlights. And don’t forget to vote for the OCM AWARDS
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Day 5 - Is there any better way to start the season than with the super climbing classic Alpe d`Huez Classic? Why don’t you ask Darell Randel (CCFC)? For 5 seasons CCFC tried to repeat Giovanny Enrico victory in season 13 and Randel even got 3 times (!!!) 2nd. This time he made it right to the end! Desmond Ledgerwood (Luveaucek) and Saturnin Garrido (Team Wells) completed the podium with the last one starting what looked like an epic season for him.
Day 5 - Nathaniel Carroll is a pretty unknown rider for many. But even so, he was sold from Asadi to alberta1 for an astonishing price of 525k! This number is for sure one of the biggest ever and looking closer to his potential... Is more than deserved.
Day 8 - Equipe Hollandia was planning something. They decided to sell the whole team including the amazing Spiridon Apetri for 455k to CCFC. Apetri had a great time in CCFC, but now it looks like it won’t take too much more time to change gain. Poor guy.
Day 9 - Division 1 classics already started in France. It’s time for Zyte to have his first classic. And just like for division 1, it’s a climbing classic. Ainet - Bruggen has always been a feared classic in OCM. Big names won here before and the pressure is always high. If you’re experienced the pressure is easier to hold down. And Mas''ud Qutaiba (Ponsbach CST) was the one dealing with it better! Not Bartoli Edo (HC Alpine) nor Fabrycy Pietrzyk (Emerge) were able to do anything to contest his amazing win!
Day 10 - The beginning of season 19 revealed some shape problems to some leaders in OCM especially in the cobbles. But this is no excuse for letting a BA like Gerret Pluhator (johny2) win the super Roubaix Classic. For him congratz but for the rest you should have work harder. Anyway Firmino Botelho (Team Tirilla) and Mauricio Viola (Glamourade) limited the damage by getting 2nd and 3rd respectively. Botelho must still be thinking what would happen if they have caught Pluhator. Better luck next time.
Day 14 - The Roubaix classic help us a lot to see who was in a good shape. But the real challenge is here! Tweedaagse van Antwerpen gives the crown to the best cobbler! After a incredible comeback Sieuwerd Schimmel (Team RI) was able to get the 3rd spot giving him a place in the podium. Merlin Limes (Drapeau Noir) had a different approach from Shimmel. He had a great start and everyone thought he could do it... But Firmino Botelho (Team Tirilla) was amazing from the start till the end! with such an preformance no one could beat him. Guys like Pope could, but some hard luck didn’t allowed them to fight him.
Day 15 - After a super Alpe d’Huez you could only expect a super Zürich-Bern-Zürich. And that’s exactly what you get! This time the super fit Ipati Bizony (NECFTW) won the race with an impressive performance over Viggo Monsen (Team Whalers) and Umberto Impellitteri (Team Crazy Downhillers) who finished 2nd and 3rd. For the record it’s NECFTW 2nd victory in a row. Will they be the first to make 3 in a row?
Day 20 - There are not many times for the zyte cobblers to show their capacities, this means that the classic Minsk CBGP is for sure the high point for them! But hey they seem not to worry about it. Gaetan Dauwe (TACXkin) and Alexis Terrier (TACXkin) gave a 1 2 finish to TACXhin who in my opinion can’t be happier. Dauwe joined the right BA and Terrier was the strongest in the peloton. Even so he wasn’t strong enough to pass his teammate. Klaudian Filipiak (Onie) was unsuccessful to take the win from the TACXhin riders. But even so he was the closest.
Day 22 - We had cobbles. We had climbs. Now it’s time for the sprinters! Norwich-London is considered for many the ultimate sprinting race! Everyone wants to win it for glory! But until now only 24 riders have that classic in their records.Plácido Sesimbra (peddelen) got the win starting to proving that pete’s managemnet is starting to make some efect. This won’t be the last time we see his management working trust me. Conrado Fraga (Team Tirilla) who has been a little far away this season got 2nd and Jacenty Kaczmarczyk (The Killers) got the chance to lead Jens Waesbergen sprinting team and managed an impressive 3rd place.
Day 22 - This day marked a new era in OCM! Equipe Hollandia spended (read carefully) 1.200k! on the bought of Avery Nijholt! Never before we’ve seen such a number. The previous transfer record was 900k from Drejbo. Equipe Hollandia justified this transfer by saying they wanted a new start with this amazing rider! All in all Greenride was the lucky one.
Day 23 - Probably the strangest transfer of the season, Hugo Parv was sold by Thai racing tp johny2 for 600k. The problem was that ultrajectum already had the confirmation that Thai racing would sell Parv to him and suddendly changed his mind. Not a fair way of trading but...
Day 22 - 2nd Tour of the season, first for the Zyte division, first one for climbers, probably the most important Tour for many and raced in Portugal. It could only be Volta ao Porto. Past winner Aksana Putin wasn’t able to win the Tour again finishing in a “modest” 8th place. Kasper Czechowski (Bywater CT) is one of the oldies in this edition. As a past winner (back in 5th edition) he proved that Bywater CT is the right team for him! He finished in an amazing 3rd place. The top 2 from this edition is a well known duet in Tours. Chris Bauwens (Team Crazy Downhillers) won the Tour just 11 second in front of Goddard Scothern (Telstra) drama till the end and again a great show for everyone who was on the roads in Portugal! Bring more please!
Day 22 - Time for the swiss Monte Rosa Tour where the unpredictable happened. Watching Guido Mertens (Leukefans) in 3rd place might not be that strange. He really proven that he is an amazing rider and this place is more than deserve. But what’s really amazing is the 1 2 result from trackstah07. Both Erskine Pettis (trackstah07) (2nd) and Damin Iacob (trackstah07) (winner) made history in OCM. The 2 downhillers were for sure much stronger than the rest of | | the peloton, but this result is more than unusual.
Day 35 - ????????(Sprint faster and faster!). Mito - Tokyo is probably the most important race in the Occident! This sprinting classic has always proven to be full of quality riders! This time it was Shimon Vandresser (Connaught) writing his name as the winner of the race! Errol Coventry (GLT27) and Yannick Elssen (Team JAN) completed the podium in a race decided in the photo-finish between these 3 guys!!!
Day 41 - The small old Cymru Taith has always been one of the favourites for the hillers. Wit Pelgrims (ultrajectum) considered by many as the Top favourite couldn’t do better than a 3rd place. Seems a poor result for this strong rider as the Top spot was the only possible goal. Looking to the Top 2 places we see one of the closest fights ever! Lasse Alkvist (Raleigh PPDB) was the surprising (or not) winner. This very powerfull TTer with an very interesting Allrounder value proved that with a bit more daydreaming you can reach whatever you want! “Don’t stop trying” - said he after the win. Only 3 second behind came Damario Crusellas (The Doomsday Bunnies) who almost punched Alkvist for taking him the victory.
Day 44 - Already known as the Gala of Climber, Vuelta de los Castillos is the Top favourite race for many teams and the preparations are always hard! First edition winner Wit Feaux could repeat last season win and finished 7th overall. All in all it wasn’t that bad for him... Watching Feaux last season has for sure encouraged the young Will Ferrin (Kremer) to do the same but this Tour is too hard for him. Even so he finished in a great 3rd place surprising many climbers who were trying to win the Tour. Gresham Tammany’s (johny2) form gave him super-powers! He got the 2nd spot just 48 seconds behind the winner. And the winner is? Probably a surprise for you (maybe not). It’s Godo Figueiredo (Greenride). A great climber, no doubt. But if we look for his team we see that the climbing sector was only made right before the sign up which means they only have time to train together 10 days maximum! Congratulations for that and for the win!
Day 47 - Perm Tour has been for sure the closest Tour this season. Isak Dammen (nrk) lost the Tour against all odds, and for just 3 seconds. And no he wasn’t 2nd. He was 3rd!!! Freek van der Werff (Burren Connemara) wasn’t the winner either. But he finished with exactly the same time as him!!! In the end he wanted to confirm the times with the direction and it turned out that he really lost it. Jaakko Virén (Faustus) was the winner after an incredible first stage and his usual ground the TT stage. Well done Virén!!!
Day 51 - The 2nd out of 3 cobbled classics in division 1, Antwerpen - Huy is for many the 2nd chance (or even 3rd) to save the season. With the first being won by a BA rider the expectation around this classic was high. And this time we had a pure cobbler raising his hand high. Mauricio Viola (Glamourade) won in front of Firmino Botelho (Team Tirilla) (both top 3 in the last classic) and finishing the podium Merlin Limes (Drapeau Noir) in one of his last appearances with the Black outfit from the french squad.
Day 51 - Oldest Tour in the circuit has always been the favourite for the home teams. Essex Tour is perfect to launch some riders into the mouth of the world and so this means that the BA riders always try something here. This time it was the same. But performances like the ones we had this season were too powerful for those riders. Antonino Tumini (Gradient Levellers) backed with a strong home team and a perfect form was a real threat to the GC,but despite that he only managed a 3rd place. Not bad considering his skills but not enough for Gradient Levellers for sure. Damario Barba (Luveaucek) has already experienced the feeling of winning the Tour. And this time he managed a great 2nd place! The real surprise was to see a beast on the Top! Lean Ahnfeldt-Mollerup (ABK) really dominated the Tour showing everyone that this is his best season ever! No chance to anyone else!
Day 52 - Race of the Minutemen has always been raced by a super team that everyone feared. Telstra has always won the SC for 4 seasons in a row! But the search for the GC was never reached. Noe Garate (Ocaña) was confident to take the win this season, but he got a 3rd place that if we think a little, it’s a great result for him! We all know that the SC isn’t enough for “the devil” Goddard Scothern (Telstra) but a 2nd place isn’t enough, too. This time he lost the GC for only 3 seconds (!!!) and we know that the direction of the Tour won’t let him come back while he’s on the Top Division. The real winner is Jesus Gasquilan (Alpha Plus) a world class performance gave him the victory despite no one believing he could do it! A HUGE congratz for him!
Day 54 - Who’s the best in the hills in Lappi Sea GP is always hard to find. It’s so hard that your DP after the race is as small as a ant. Who would say the sprinters would be so good here? Anton Backman (Canuck Racing) won in front of Jakub Lewicki (team tdb) and Vidal Lizarraga (mortenryt) amazing classic! Will we see this guys on top again?
Day 56 - Just 2 days after the last classic, the Zyte division has a sprinting classic! Known for his past winners this classic gives the winner a place in history for ever! Sven-Erik Häggberg (Simoni crew) backed with an incredible team support puted everyone behind him easily! Kevin Shannon (Team Caridade) and Jan Thomsen (blast) completed the podium in a close fight between them.
Day 61 - The last call for the cobblers! Astana GP can show what the cobblers been doing the whole season. Who can keep the high form from the beginning of the season? Who gone down and who gone up? Well definitely Maas de Wolf (Monkeys United) got up. Finally we see him in the Top! Maybe more surprising is Mauricio Viola (Glamourade) finishing 2nd. He got the Top 3 in all cobbled classics!!! Mike Toftager, Team airik completed the Top 3 with an impressive performance for him.
Day 65 - Cobbles are over, time for the sprinters again! Helsinki GP might not be as important for many as Norwich, but looking at the signed squads we know that many of those are lying! Helsinki GP is on fire again this season! And this time is time for the beast to eat! Lean Ahnfeldt-Mollerup (ABK) has been having the best season ever and this classic might be the cherry on top of the cake for him. Is he satisfied? Even so the ever-best Jens Waesbergen (The Killers) finished second giving the team the 2nd (out of 2 classics) Top 3 finish. Ralph van Bon (Team Tirilla), who also had an amazing season,
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Day 70 - Last classic for the Zyte guys. And 5 days after Helsinky GP we’ll have the Helsinky GP Mini. I always asked myself why it’s called mini? The beast won here 3 times and Apetri and Malta also won here! This time we had a new name: Roman Ole? (nonnies) had a great win in front of Martin Østrup (Jonas Pro Cycling) and Alexander Ballette (CARCYCL). We can’t wait for next season to have more drama in Zyte grounds!
Day 75 - Last Top division classic! Critérium La Provence is always raced during the GT. This means the form from many isn’t brilliant, but as this season we had a sprinter dominating the GT it can only mean that we’ll have many climbers focusing in this super classic. If we compare this classic to the 2 from the beginning of the season, this might be less important. But the fun and excitement is still there for sure!!! And who else than Vitaliy Bayer (Gradient Levellers) could win it? Noone! Impressive performance from him and how much excitement we had when he left both Samy Jourdan (Il Grillo) and Joop Daems (Yuri SuperTeam) (they finished 2nd and 3rd respectively) behind just 2 km from the finish line!
Day 76 - Germany Tour is still the high point of the season. The TV coverage always gets a huge number of spectators and the roads are full right from the start! Zack Davie (NECFTW) has proven to be an amazing pure climber against everything and everyone. He was even considered one of the top favourites for the GC this season. Everything was set for him but he only managed the 3rd place. But even so he was the best climber in the GC. So what happened? Werner Bouma (Team Revolutie) has made the Tour from the back till the front and managed a 2nd amazing place. Not that strange if we look at his hilling skill. But the biggest surprise were the not 1, not 2 but 6 (!!!) stage wins and GC victory from the sprinter (!!!) Jan-Joost Dussel (peddelen). Angry faces shocked faces and happy faces in the end! Big surprise for everyone and a great show again this season. The only question was: Would JJ Dussel keep this form?
Day 77 - Sad days come and go. CCFC announces sale-out just before the end of the season. He justified it by the lack of enjoyment in the recent seasons. He wants a fresh start and says he will stay in the lower divisions to find a pure talent. Good luck!
Day 78 - Just one day after CCFC announcing a team sale-out it’s time for the best (ever) ranked team EEO to announce a team sale-out. Same reasons from CCFC, but due to some mystery that no one can answer the sale has been paused and no rider left the team yet. except for Winfried Reinhold who joined Team Tirilla for an unknown amount.
Day 82 - Last Tour of the season brought as usual a lot of amazing sprinters together. Not as many as last season but still we had the GT winner, Jan-Joost Dussel (peddelen), with us here. An he was stronger than Hulk! “What are you doing?” many thought. Well again he won... 5 OUT 6 OF STAGES AND THE GC. “Mother of God!!!”. There is no possible explanation for this. He’s from outer space! After a strong TT Boudewijn Frans (IGF) and Cristian Cuéllar (SierraEspadán) but they weren’t comparable to JJ Dussel... secured a 2nd and 3rd place respectively. What a way to finish the season... Now wait we still have the World Championships!
Day 89 - With the World Championships at the door the silence was installed. The cold war behind the scenes is frightening. No one wanted to reveal anything! Today we have the ITT race. In the past it has never been very appreciated and the winners were normally weaker than supposed... But this season... Cees van Zeggeren (Monkeys United) wasn’t the first starting, in fact he was the last from his team. By that time Valentin Figueira (sprint4live) was on the lead and in the sprint4live provisional HQ the celebration had already begun. But when Cees arrived we could only hear an explosion of laughs against sprint4live managers. Cees beaten Valentin for 4 seconds and was now on the lead! Matrix team is a usual team in this grounds. But until then no one of his TTers was able to get a good result. All of them were outside from the Top9. But his new TTer, who still can’t speak french, made a performance that only a few can do. Vejayaraguan Eswaran (Matrix team) has beaten Cees by 1 minute! The Rainbow jersey was almost his... Until Red Star last rider was only 2 km from the line. Jan Ness (Red Star) was neck to neck with Vejayaraguan time. Who would be first in the end? Let’s hear the live commentary: “And here come Jan we can already see him at the end of the final straight. OMG it’s so close he still has 5 seconds come on Jan just a little more, 4 seconds,... 3 seconds I can’t even look! HE WON HE WON BY 2 SECONDS!” Jan was now leading and only 2 riders to finish! Natanael Buso (sprint4live) failed! Solomon Henschel (Team Whalers) failed, too. This can only mean one thing: Jan Ness (Red Star) is the new World Champion! Congratz and show that jersey during the next season with honor!
Day 90 - There’s no need to talk about the importance of the World Championships. Especially the road race with is the most interesting to watch. As usual during the first 250 km we’ve seen tons of attacks to try to make a surprise. No one could really escape much. During one of the final hills about 20 km to go a group formed by 9 riders took an interesting advantage over a very tired peloton. Their names are: Élvio Aguiar (CycleMotor), Abraham Cojuango (NECFTW), Isaak Papadimitriou (Club Ciclista Riaza), Garcia Dabino (Legia), Walton Holmen (JJL24SS), Joop Daems (Yuri SuperTeam), Ruddy Lind (Drapeau Noir), Spiridon Apetri (CCFC) and Oswald Hudler (Gradient Levellers). The cooperated perfectly and the lead became bigger. the knew the win would be decided between them. In the final 5 km Garcia Dabino launched an attack cause he knew that if Spiridon Apetri reached the end inside the group he would be the fastest man in the sprint. As a result Ruddy Lind and Élvio Aguiar lost the group and had to fight for the 8th place between them. With just 1 km to go it was time for Oswald Hulder to launch the attack and only Isaak Papadimitrou and Spiridon Apetri could fallow. No one believed Spiridon was doing such a climb! And guess what, after Hulder attack Apetri launched the winning attack! Papadimitrou finished just 1 second behind and Hulder could still hang on in the podium! What a race my friends! And Spiridon Apetri (CCFC) is the new WORLD CHAMPION!
Welcome to the 20th season....
Written by season analyser Yuri from Yuri SuperTeam to OCM Awards Committee
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