Next Monday the Rotm starts for the 5th time.
  Everybody is very exited, because the startsign will be given by no one less than "The Boss" himself. Thousands and thousands of people will come to see his favorite rider..
  
  This season the tour will be completly open. Because riders like Scothern and Gasquilan who dominated last editions are not racing. So everybody will take his chance to go home with the big trophies and the pricemoney.
  
  Like always the tour will be held in the United States. For some teams this is quite a distance. Some will be confronted with a jetlag so they have to be sure they can recover on time.
  
  All kind of riders can do good in this tour. There are some time trials, some stages for the sprinters and some big mountain stages. All the riders are proud to be a part of this tour. So there is no question about it that they will give eveything they got!
  
  The weather forecast predicts a sunny week. So nothing can stop this tour from being a hell of a ride!!
  
  Who will win this edition of Rotm?
  
  
  
  The Teams:
  
  
   EricV
  " I have big expectations with Klaus as captain, He has led the team from division8 into division4 in one season and is still going strong. Unfortunately the stages are not in his advantage but a podium in stage 2 must be possible"
  
  
   Britcycles
  With this crazy rider from Saudi Arabia called Jabir Majdy they got one of the fastest sprinters in the peleton. If nothing strange happen a podium in the SC will be right.
  
  
   TheRhys
  If you see: Eddie"the cat" then you know you are lost. He is certainly the topfavorite of this tour! Maybe he is not the best climber, but Eddie got some amazing teammates. If he don't win this tour I will eat my shoe..,
  
  
   jenno
  Got a decent climber with Doherty. But his lack of teammates won't get him far. He must be happy with a podiumplace in one of the mountain stages.
  
  
   rooney17
  Only a couple of weeks ago the police entered the training of rooney17, Afanasy Tyannikov is a suspect in a weird investigation. He is suspicious of riding with a motor in his frame. After the police controlled his bike there was only one thing they could do: letting him go!
  Afanasy: "People are jealous, because I will win those 2 ITT's with two fingers in my nose".
  
  
   WalrusPT
  Rider Huynh is one of the best climbers this season. He loves climbing, he lives climbing, he eats climbing, he is climbing! But because he is such a light weight he will lose some time in the time trials.
  
  
   Team Oasis
  This team got a real GC contender, his name: Rostam Sirjani.
  He fly down the mountains like he got wings. Maybe this year he will be more cautious because his wife just gave him a little boy. But im sure his good teammates will help him through. If he is in good shape he can win this tour!
  
  
   PRS
  The number 1 in division4. There must be a reason for it. And yes there is! he got a decent sprinter with Ildefonso Avelar. With some decent lead outs. Not really spectacular but there teamspirit is good, so lets see what they can do..,
  
  
   Manisaspor
  When you think of Turkey you dont think about cycling. But Manisaspor

introduced cycling over there and is training some serious talent. He even got 2 riders who can get a nice result. Sprinter Sabri Rasim will go for the SC, and Ethan Kerr will show his strength in the ITT's.
  
  
   Cyclistsss
  With some luck Jed Troy can get a podium in stage1. And dont forget this team got a decent climber named Navarro but he got totally no support in the mountains so it will be very difficult.
  
  
   Velo Kiwi
  Lima! Lima! Lima! Lima! Lima!
  This guy is amazing! He can really do anything. Thats why he is with no doubt a serious contender for the GC. With topform and his good teammates he even can beat Eddie"The Cat".
  
  
   Hushovdfan
  Is he old? Yes he is! ..Who are we talking about?
  I geuss everybody knows, think about his great career, about his great results in all kind of tours.
  Offcourse its Travis Plowman! The question is: Is he to old? Does he have to quit or is he still be a real contender? He is unfortunatly not in a good shape but hey we will see...
  
  
   SprintingKings
  This is interresting, what does one of the best sprinter in OCM in division 4? Were talking about Aberto Gasperoni. It will be very hard, no lets say impossible to beat him. His is definitely the topfavorite for the SC!
  
   ekaitz team
  With the nr #1 of Malta he got a decent TT'er on his team. Olivier in good shape can get some nice results in the ITT's.
  
  
   SilenceLotteFan
  If you think about an alrounder you think of Teodor Bagger. With some good lead outs he can do something in the sprints. After him comes Riley Bay, he will go for the ITT.
  
  
   wielermaster
  Tjeerd Fikkers, the captain of this team is a decent hiller. But unfortunately his lack of sideskills will break him. Maybe he got some luck in a breakaway..
  
  
   Team Albatros
  It will be a hard tour for Team Albatros. His both captains are injuried. He is hoping to get some points with David Bjerrum, but it will be difficult. Maybe he will come back next season to take revanche!
  
  
   Ocaña
  The outsiders of this tour, in almost every race he got an outsider on the start. I say fingers crossed..
  
  
   Albiceleste
  Upcoming star Benito Lala is only 24 years old and already a great climber. He is a good candidate for the Youth classification. But can he keep up with the older guys? Maybe not yet, maybe next year if he works on his tt skils.
  
  
   farouk
  The dutchman Abbenbroek is a good allrounder. But it will not be a easy tour for him. Because the stages are not in his advantage. So he have to pray to get away!
  
  
  
  
  The Stages:
  
  Race of the minuteman #5: 642km in 6 stages
  2x Time trial
  2x

flatstage
  2x mountainstage
  
  • Revere’s Midnight Ride (ITT)
  Like always the tour starts with an individual time trial race. It's a flat race, with only a few hills but nothing serious.
  Stage: 19km
  Profile:
  CL:1 DH:1 HL:2 SP:4 FR:5 CB:0 TQ:6 TT:8
  
  -Favorites:
  ***** Afanasy Tyannikov(rooney17)
  **** Ethan Kerr(Manisaspor), Riley Bay(SilenceLotteFan)
  *** Jed Troy(Cyclistsss), Noe Garate(Ocaña), Kimball Testaferrata Olivier(ekaitz team)
  -Outsiders:
  Tomas Pakuleviciute (Manisaspor), Rostam Sirjani(Team Oasis), Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys), Tamati Lima(Velo Kiwi)
  
  
  
  •Lexington - Laconia
  The first real road race in Rotm starts in Lexington and finish in Laconia. Because the legnth and the hills it will be a hard race. Only the strongest sprinters will get a good result.
  Stage: 155km
  CL:2 DH:1 HL:4 SP:7 FR:5 CB:0 TQ:4 TT:0
  
  -Favorites:
  ***** Aberto Gasperoni(SprintingKings)
  **** Klaus Villyn(EricV), Teodor Bagger(SilenceLotteFan)
  *** Sabri Rasim(Manisaspor), Jabir Majdy(Britcycles), Pier Abbenbroek(farouk)
  -Outsiders:
  Ildefonso Avelar(PRS), Tamati Lima(Velo Kiwi), Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys), Kassim Faidzli(Ocaña)
  
  
  
  •Laconia - Littleton
  The finish place of yesterday will be the startplace today. This is a serious mountain stage. There are some big mountains the riders have to cross. Will the riders watch each other or are they taking some risks?
  Stage: 141km
  Profile:
  CL:7 DH:6 HL:5 SP:2 FR:1 CB:0 TQ:0 TT:0
  
  -Favorites:
  ***** Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys)
  **** Brendan Huynh(WalrusPT), Rostam Sirjani(Team Oasis)
  *** Maxwell Doherty(jenno), Tamati Lima(Velo Kiwi), Benito Lala(Albiceleste)
  -Outsiders:
  Travis Plowman(Hushovdfan), Mason Mulligan(TheRhys), Zenobio Navarro(Cyclistsss), Juliusz Andrysiak(Team Oasis)
  
  
  
  •Littleton - Mt. Jefferson
  The King stage of the tour. The riders with general classification abilities have to do something today, because this is the last mountain stage. Will the strongest riders come forward? This could be the
  decisive stage of the tour..
  Stage: 176km
  Profile:
  CL:8 DH:5 HL:5 SP:1 FR:0 CB:0 TQ:2 TT:0
  
  -Favorites:
  ***** Brendan Huynh(WalrusPT)
  **** Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys), Rostam Sirjani(Team Oasis)
  ***Maxwell Doherty(jenno), Tamati Lima(Velo Kiwi), Travis Plowman(Hushovdfan)
  -Outsiders:
  Benito Lala(Albiceleste), Hartley Rich(Ocaña), Mason Mulligan(TheRhys), Brain Knol(Team Oasis)
  
  
  
  •Mt. Washington ITT
  Mt. Washington ITT is an individual climb time trial.Only riders with time trial and climbing skills will have a chance here. It's the last chance for the riders to make some difference this tour, so they will be giving everything they got!
  Stage: 8km
  Profile:
  CL:7 DH:1 HL:3 SP:0 FR:0 CB:0 TQ:3 TT:7
  
  -Favorites:
  ***** Afanasy Tyannikov(rooney17)
  **** Noe Garate(Ocaña), Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys)
  *** Ethan Kerr(Manisaspor), Tamati Lima(Velo Kiwi), Kimball Testaferrata Olivier(ekaitz team)
  -Outsiders:
  Jed Troy(Cyclistsss), Travis Plowman(Hushovdfan), Rostam Sirjani(Team Oasis), Riley Bay(SilenceLotteFan)
  
  
  •Concord - Faneuil Hall
  The last stage of the tour will be one for the sprinters. It's a flat stage but very techinal. The fastest sprinter will have a big chance here.
  Stage: 143km
  Profile:
  Concord - Faneuil Hall (Race of the Minutemen)
  CL:0 DH:0 HL:1 SP:8 FR:6 CB:0 TQ:8 TT:0
  
  -Favorites:
  ***** Aberto Gasperoni(SprintingKings)
  **** Sabri Rasim(Manisaspor), Jabir Majdy(Britcycles)
  *** Aedan Straway(Hushovdfan), Ildefonso Avelar(PRS), Klaus Villyn(EricV)
  -Outsiders:
  Teodor Bagger(SilenceLotteFan), Pier Abbenbroek(farouk), David Bjerrum(Team Albatros), Estanislao Prieto(Britcycles)
  
  
  
  
  •General Classification:
  ***** Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys)
  **** Rostam Sirjani(Team Oasis), Tamati Lima(Velo Kiwi),
  *** Brendan Huynh(WalrusPT), Maxwell Doherty(jenno), Benito Lala(Albiceleste)
  
  
  •Sprint Classification:
  ***** Aberto Gasperoni(SprintingKings)
  **** Sabri Rasim(Manisaspor), Jabir Majdy(Britcycles)
  *** Ildefonso Avelar(PRS), Klaus Villyn(EricV), Eddie Ebersold(TheRhys)m
  
  
  Written by freelancer EricV from
  EricV to OCM Magazine