One more day to go to the Volta ao Porto signups and some of the biggest teams in Division 2 pro cycling are rubbing their hands in anticipation.
  
  Last year, all eyes were on Yasanuri Yamauchi as the young Japanese gun spectacularly failed to deliver. He'll be back for a shot at redemption this year, but the spotlight has now turned to the next big thing in OCM, the young Greek maverick Isaak Papadimitriou from Club Ciclista Riaza. Blessed with excellent climbing skills, the budding superstar has already left some of the sportswriters drooling in anticipation. It remains to be seen whether the lad from Athens can handle the pressure this year, but it promises to be yet another exciting sideshow on the big day.
  
  The locals in Porto are already gearing up to welcome some of the sport’s finest riders come Thursday. Some teams will jet in early to acclimatise, while others may choose to enter warmup events before making the trip. However, make no mistake - no one is treating this lightly,

especially in its second year. The local crowd already has its favourites, as souvenir shops hawking T-shirts featuring last year’s winner Keegan Shiable have sprung up in the vicinity. The Team Kernow rider was a surprise winner in last year’s edition and has already fired an early warning shot with a respectable 8th placing at the Alpe d`Huez Classic.
  
  However, notable absentees include last year’s third and fourth placed riders, the American pair of Vernon Kings and Elroy Vickers. The Fairfield Flyers Cycling duo are currently battling it out at the top of Division 1 and will be ineligible for this race. Reigning runner up Mateo Martinez of mtrompie is also unlikely to feature due to eligibility issues. Meanwhile, Sprint champion Noe Bello has since moved on to Telek@m and will most certainly not be back to defend his crown.
  
  Avid cycling fans need not fret however as the field is most certainly going to be as strong as, if not stronger than last year. Among the likely

participants are Alex Wallace from Darkwave Recordings, Ian Defley from Dodge, Gerald Karda from Team WonderDee and Yasir Sahir from Torreira.
  
  It won’t be an exaggeration to say however, that all eyes will be on Zyte Division side Velo Club Bored Man. The British based team is back in the competition after last season’s disappointing 6th place finish, but will be sporting a whole new lineup. Tensions flared at VCBM last year as the team imploded from within. The fallout continued beyond the Volta as team principal Hairingtons sensationally sacked lead rider Jimmy Waller. The acrimonious breakup hogged the back pages for days, but it seems the team is keen to bounce back, this time led by promising Polish climb specialist Bartosz Ozóg.
  
  All that’s left is for the race to officially kick off. We’ll certainly be in for one hell of a roller coaster ride, starting with team signups on Thursday. The Volta Countdown Diary will attempt to be there with you all the way so watch this space!