Written by Burgi of Burulus
Well here I am. Hotel Grand Central seems to be an ordinary railway station. Which explains why I had to bring a sleeping bag to my five star accommodation. And I have to be thankful that I did not have to cycle to Wales. But anyways here I am bringing report from Wales. And with the money we saved with our reservation at Hotel Grand Central we could interview all managers. This article will be based on their views. This Cymru is shaping up to be the best ever. And I can assure you that the ‘gorau’ (or best) of the Zyte division is there to make it so.
Vientiane Cycling
At this team Keovilay is expected to finish in the top nine here. Before signing up the staff at Vientiane expected to finish in the top five but after a race signup failure, his form took a hit. Pha That Luang expected either Geitz or Drimalas to win the tour. However since Drimalas is injured I guess he will just stick with Geitz.
Cremtec
Manager Cremtec of Cremtec expects to finish top three in the youth classification with Hattrup. Cremtec made sure that his young gun is in top notch form for Cymru. Should his plans fail, Evans will serve as a backup. However for now it seems that Evans will support Hattrup which is a real plus for the young talent.
Oekiewakkie
Manager Danenberg is in with Felipe Maximiliano as his captian. He hoped to get the max out of Maximiliano. And according to Danenberg that is a top nine finish in the general classification. He also brought Raf Roelens as his sprinter and eh hopes to get at least a top nine in the last stage.
SilenceLotteFan
Brecht, manager of SilenceLottoFan, hopes his rider Yannick De Craene can finish in the top nine. However he realizes that it is going to be a close call. Brecht was not really sure about his opponents. However he fancies Arzu and Pelgrims to do well in this Welsh tour.
Peloton Pushers
Manager Lince Armstrong has decided to keep from competing in the general classification. However he does intend to target the hills stage with Hunter Sawyer. He also hopes for Eli Rictor to win the TT. He thinks that Arzu will win Cymru Taith
Auro team
Auro team’s hopes are fixed on Roosendael for the GC. He hopes for him to end on the podium. However he also stated: “Maybe my hope is a dream.” And his expectations are maybe a little bit too high. However dreams are always good. Aren’t they?
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Burren Connemara
Cillian Cassidy’s only expectation is a top nine in the first stage. Albert Sandor will be his captain. And he will be supported by Freek van der Werff. He stated that Drimalas should be the favourite. However since he is injured I expect he changed his views. But my luxury Hotel Grand Central did not have wifi therefor I could not ask him about his opinion at the moment.
Ponika
brzovozi is a manger without any expectations at all. He has Vid Lazic as a captian and he might do damage to the opposition in stage one. However he might as well ride a quiet Cymru Taith. But he is already happy to ride his first Cymru Taith which is quite an achievement in its own right.
Team Oasis
Nooky Lair expects that Geitz will finish in the top nine. While many other managers have marked him as one of the big favourites. Nooky wants to keep expectations low. Due to the fact that Geitz disappointed for two earlier editions. His main contender should have been Drimalas according to him. But thanks to the circumstances at Grand Central I couldn’t ask for his opinion again.
Kremer
When asked about expectations manager Wojciu was quite confident when he said that top nine would surely be a possibility for his team. He then mentioned Drimalas and Stasiak. Ofcourse Drimalas, three time winner, should have been the captain. However I think Stasiak will take over that responsibility. When asked about his opponents he said: “I don’t look at others. I only look at race profiles.
Cycling Nieuwegein
Liam de Kleine hopes to get a top nine in the general classification. Cisco must fulfil their expectations. Even though Cisco has not got topform and that is why he believes it is going to be a hard time. He said that just like Kremer he is not looking at others.
Darkwave Recordings
The manager of Darkwave Recordings is only expecting a top nine on the first stage. The rest of the tour will not be so important to him as he is going on holiday. This means that he also did not really bother to look at other competition. As far as he is concerned Landim will do the job.
Team airik
airik is hoping that Arzu will get a top five. However he does know that Arzu has failed to deliver lately and that he does not want to put too much pressure on his pupil. Drimalas
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Cider Riders
At Cider Riders only one thing counts. The Newport ITT. CiderJ is thinking that Mitrofan Ryabkin is the man to do it for this team. According to the manager his one and only opponent is Lady Luck. If she is on his side the manager believes everything is possible in the ITT
EpoTopTeam
Manormaniac was a fairly desperate manager if you asked him for his chances to win Cymru this year. He hoped for a top three with Jimmi Svejstrup. However he thought that Drimalas would smash his hopes into the ground. And he said something very interesting:”I really hope he falls off his bike and gets injured.” I am not a conspiracy theorist. However this is a very curious thing to say.
The following teams did not reply to my questions. So I believe they should be burned at the stake immediately. Because now I have to actually do some research myself.
Team Majones
Manager kikkan is probably relying on Wit Pelgrims to do well in this tour. SilenceLottoFan even said that he might be a good outsider. And I agree. Or at least to a certain degree. I believe that he might end in the top five or maybe even top three.
blast
The main trump for team blast is Celso Leitao. If he manages to survive the hills stage, he can do a lot of damage in the time trial. And in top form he is really someone to watch.
Wizzyweb
Manager Wizzy has not got a rider who can really compete for the gold in Cymru Taith. The team might win in a break away and thus they might even end up in the top nine of the general classification but this is all just speculating. And the chance for it to happen is pretty small. However you never know your luck.
Pomada
Indurain has the same problem as team Wizzyweb has. So there is not much to expect from them. Their captain seems to be the Nigerian Samson Udenkwor. However in the end I do not really believe there is anything to be seen from this team
Team Kernow
At team Kernow, Jacobus Vercouteren might end up somewhere in the top nine of the general classification. He is therefore probably the man who will save the day for manager Elliotone.
Good luck to all and “Cael taith 'n glws”.
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