Once again the division 5 elite teams gather around Esbjerg for the most important race of the year. This years race is packed with top-notch riders in every field. Your OCM reporter will guide you through the field and let's see who is hot and, who is not!
  
  Optimus Prime
  In his debut tour the German Bundestrainer sends Heinrich Matthäus as captain. He has to rely on old Holmen as only capable supporting rider. Nevertheless he is in good shape and certainly good enough to hit the podium once or twice, certainly in stage 3. Should have focussed on timetrialing to be a GC contender.
  
  Manisaspor
  Ozgur Akman planned ahead and with great result! Turkish Champ Sabri Rasim will be in perfect shape and has e good team around him. Should be able to claim a few podium spots as well as a top-3 in the SC, and if he as good as predicted a top 9 in the GC? Look out for Tomas Pakuleviciute as he could surprise in the TT stages.
  
  Joss
  What can i say about Joss. It is rumoured he stalked Dutch team ultrajectum for months trying to persuade him to sell Haney. And eventually in the dying seconds before signup a transfer was agreed. Haney is here for one thing and that is to bring home the victory. And to be honest with the topform boost he got from the recent transfer he really should. With Kerwin as support, what can go wrong?
  
  Britcycles
  Ryant brings Leon Morison, another contender for the GC victory. Comes to Denmark with a 3rd place in Beat Cup Jimmi. Outsider in the prologue but real contender in all other stages. Has to cope with little support from his teammates, but if he gets a good result in the prologue he might get in to a flow.
  
  
  Treaty City CC
  First tour for the 3rd ranked Irish team. Aiming for a tour win for Zeiser, seriously? Come on B. O. Connell, that is way out of his league! This is his first tour so he should be aiming for a top 9 in stage 3 or 4 for Zeiser. Oh and a word of advice, don't let Kaalund fight for his own chances, just make him a leadout.
  
  POM Wonderful
  Has a big favourite for the cobble stage in Elías Ásisson. Huh wait, there is NO cobble stage! Fresh pomegranates and juice wont help this time. One of the greatest downhillers in the peloton Damin Iacob has support from men who like to ride TvA. On the other hand, even with good support Damin is not suited for this tour except for stage 4. They should try to enjoy and try a breakaway.
  
  Nordic Light
  Manager Tarry put all the eggs in one basket: Mikal Stokke, a topform sprinter ready to claim SC and at least 2 results in the stages. His leadout Lundberg feels more comfortable on the rocky roads but he is the only one in the team able to launch Mikal.
  
  BOBgrifter
  Andorra, home of tax evasion and shady financial

deals... and grifters. There are even grifters who don't hide the fact they are scamming using a cycleteam. And BOB send there whitewashing-team all the way to Denmark. The climbers are here for breakaway and laundering large sums of money. I am pretty sure there wont be any prizemoney involved.
  
  jannies
  Big GC favourite Huub Zandstra is loaded with confidence. One to watch in every stage except the timetrials. Jannies bings 2 well known specialists for that. Bought from topteam Karalracing they bring Nellisen and Dolliver. And that fact is also the weakness of jannies, will the 3 tt specialist be enough support for Zandstra to bring it home?
  
  Opium Fueled
  This controversial team is sponsored by the triads from Hong Kong. They are escape specialists when it comes to out of competition testing. They have no expectations (besides getting high) for this tour. The captain is a great cobbler from downunder Rowan Baird, who particularly likes racebreaks, nudge nudge, wink wink
  
  
  DWIW
  Octaaf de Bougne faithful leadout for years woke up on day 71 because the phone was ringing. It was manager japboppe who was so excited he could not speak. After a few minutes he calmed down and said the words: “We signed up for Fast on Wheels and you are the captain!” Octaaf could not believe it... on his way to retirement finally captain in a tour. He is ready to show the world what he is made of.
  
  Team Rex
  Only 3 months after the team started they are already in their first tour. Quite an achievement! They are captained by American Alex Baer who is a more then decent sprinter and is supported an impressive set of leadouts for a team only riding for one season. Interesting fact: They only had one result outside the bottom division. So it is time to show the world what they can do in 5th.
  
  Forza17
  So this team is already around for at least ten seasons. They are famous for the great amount of riders with quite small or average riders. In Denmark the team has high hopes for their Lithuanian captain Dambrauskas who is skilled a bit in almost everything. A good team for breakaways, i guess
  
  FC Rado team
  Veteran sprinter Carrilho was chief leadout for Yuri SuperTeam for 6 seasons. He was granted a transfer to LFC to try his luck as a captain. I am not sure it was the smartest of moves but i hope he proves me wrong. Oh Jozef Stevens is ready to get a result in the TT’s.
  
  Elmi
  Fast on wheels asked the Lesotho Cycling federation to sent a team. And they sent the number one team to the danish hills. Although they have no chance in the stages or in the gc they might have some luck with a long escape.
  
  ALAITZ ATHLETIC TEAM
  ALAITZ ATHLETIC TEAM (no i am not shouting) is here to get some airtime in long

breaks. These guys might just skip the tour and take a turn to Billund and visit Legoland. And let’s be honest, we would not even notice that they are gone.
  
  Dux
  Robeson, one of the world best sprinters is ready to claim the SC. Of course a favourite in all flat stages. But Dux has another trick up his sleeve: Toro “the Bull” Campos is one of the best timetrialists in this tour. I predict top 9 in every stage.
  
  Zero Tolerance
  Burton Alexander might discover Denmark is flatter then he hoped. He is an excellent climber but hills are not mountains. One of the better teams this tour so there will be some cash and points along the way. Cabral is an outsider for the TT’s.
  
  English Sprinting Team
  EST is here to win. And Mullan will probably do it too. Amazing set of skills, almost unbelievable for a division 5 tour. He has 2 problems: His team sucks and he had to race shortly before the tour to earn some points to sign up. He looks a little tired.
  
  Silver Giant
  The Burundi’s are back. After RotM now FoW. Again with super sprinter Cerveira but not as captain. That role is for local Ishyaka who has a nice set of climbing skills. Will his climbing be enough to keep of the sprinters and or TT-ists
  
  Esbjerg Prolog (ITT)
  *** Toro Campos, Reginald Haney
  ** Jasper Dolliver, Klaas Nellisen, Tomas Pakuleviciute, Leon Morison
  * Jozef Stevens, Julio Cabral, Carroll Mullan
  
  Esbjerg - Holstebro
  *** Carroll Mullan, Sherard Robeson
  ** Graciano Cerveira, Sabri Rasim, Leon Morison
  * Huub Zandstra
  
  Holstebro - Århus
  *** Carroll Mullan, Sherard Robeson
  ** Graciano Cerveira, Sabri Rasim, Leon Morison
  * Huub Zandstra, Heinrich Matthäus
  
  Århus - Vejle
  *** Carroll Mullan, Reginald Haney
  ** Huub Zandstra, Damin Iacob, Heinrich Matthäus
  * Sabri Rasim, Leon Morison
  
  Odense - Odense (ITT)
  *** Toro Campos, Reginald Haney
  ** Jasper Dolliver, Klaas Nellisen, Jozef Stevens
  * Tomas Pakuleviciute, Julio Cabral, Jay Gould
  
  Odense - København
  *** Carroll Mullan, Sherard Robeson
  ** Graciano Cerveira, Sabri Rasim, Leon Morison
  * Huub Zandstra, Heinrich Matthäus
  
  GC
  **** Carroll Mullan
  *** Reginald Haney
  ** Leon Morison, Huub Zandstra, Sabri Rasim
  * Heinrich Matthäus, Sherard Robeson
  
  Written by Pees of Ultrajectum to OCM Magazine