Written by Michael of English Sprinting Team
The focus is Africa this time and the spectacular trophy of an Udu drum. Nigeria is giving them a great cheer and the teams from the African continent are present. This season we see three African teams, one from Tunisia and two from South Africa. This is the only climbers classic in division six, so it is well contested, even though it is a low division classic. The first five teams to sign up were:
Sky Youth Devolpment
Their recently trained rider, Axel Morscher, will captain the team. He has the right ability to challenge for a good finish at this race, and he will have team mates to help him. He should have good DP and RS going into the race as well.
iheb pro team
The leader for this team is a climber from Belgium called Matijs Remry. He will have a limited amount of support, but he has nine results to his name this season, four of them wins.
Erasmus
Their captain is one of the oldest and experienced riders in this race. He is Vincent Ploeger. He has entered in climbing classics like Ainet - Bruggen, which he won twice, got a third and a seventh.
Cyclists
They have a native captain called Jeffrey Sans. He has got a great wing man in the form of Chad Talkington. Sans has got seventh at this race before, so he will be looking to improve on that.
Albiceleste
Now we come to the team with the money. Their captain is Benito Lala. He has five trained team mates and will be looking to improve on his ninth place last season.
Last seasons winner of this race was a breakaway by Sukraj Fitrianto, from the team IDX Garuda Kestrel. They have not done too well this season but it shows that a breakaway is possible. Will we see again a break away upset or are the big team able to keep the peloton together and let the captains finish it on the slopes of the mountains. We will have to wait for the outcome.
Now back to the teams of this years classic:
teamsi
They bring Abel Mentzer to this classic. The race profile does not suit him exactly, but he has got results in the tour Race of the Minutemen and in the division three classic Critérium la Grasse
sivac
Their captain for this classic will be the climber Dragiša Hajdukovic. Already having got fifth and an eigth at this race, he will be looking to improve on those results.
Big Z
This team will find it hard during the race because they do not have a lot of support for their captain Benne Berghmans. He has had experience in classics and has got a few results, so he should not be counted out.
Team Specialized Cycling
We suppose their captain will be Uffe Ramsgaard. If he is, he will have great support from his | | two team mates. He will be looking for a top nine.
Hoosier State Cycling
Their captain is Van Landry. He is an impressive climber, but he is also made for tours and classics. He should perform well in this kind of race.
Durban Dolphins
The first of the South African teams. They just announced the signing of a very good cobbler, but they bring their home trained climber Gilroy McNab to captain this race. This is his first season and he has three wins to his name. He will be looking for another result.
Handelsbanken
They bring their Swedish climber Sammy Bäckstedt. He will want a top three to go with this third at Giro de Vicenza classic. He has good support to do well here.
Kudus
They bring a climber in top form for this classic called Vusimusi Dikana. He has only got two results to his name so he will want to improve on that and he certainly has the support to do it.
don hamstre team
The Don brings Rostam Sirjani to this classic. He is one of the biggest favorites here, but the only thing which could put doubt on him is coming back from the Fast on Wheels tour. Will he have enough energy to win here? Who knows…
Bussen
This Norwegian team brings an impressive twenty-two year old climber to this classic called Sven Førde. He does not have a lot of help, but when has that ever stopped a young, ambitious rider.
denbosch
They bring their Dutch climber Christiaan de Maar. He has a couple of ninth places in other climbing classics. He will not have the best support, but he seems to get good race results somehow. We Should not count him out.
masterzeike
This Portuguese team brings their rider Aquilino Paz to this race. He has a good record at picking up results and he has also had a sixth place in the division four classic Critérium la Grasse. He is not one to underestimate.
Team Weeny
This team was one of the first ever teams to start this game. He brings this captain Batiaan Grommers and an extremely strong team with him. He got seventh in this classic last season. He will want to win that trophy for sure.
kalasnikof
This team from Laos brings one of a few climbers from their country, called Vongsamany Javue. He does not got any results as of yet, but in a classic anything can happen.
Snubles Bubbles
This team has entered for the breakaway I think. Their captain could be anyone, but they entered Bård Rasmussen as their first rider. Could this be the team to upset the rest of the climbers?
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| | | | We asked the managers the same question: What are your ambitions for this classic?
iheb pro team: I sign up for every race to do my best specially that i can win a trophy this will be hard but a top nine will be enough for me .. also i want to win a local competition by having the best rider than sky youth development or kudus..
Hoosier State Cycling: My ambition for this classic is to get a result for Van Landry. Van has had a strong season, three wins, nearly 300 points, but has struggled to maintain his success at division six. He is a good all-rounder and the strongest climber on the team, so I hope that he can stay near the front at the end and go for the win. Elton Rickenbach and Ethan Perkins are my two strongest climbing teammates and will try to put him in the best position possible.
Bussen: I am hoping for a top six finish
Cyclists: My goal is to end higher than last two seasons. Last season I was tenth, and the year before seventh, but this season my team will be much better with the support of Chad Talkington, all in support of Jeffrey Sans, because Chad is not in a good shape and Jeffrey is. Maybe I can reach podium, who knows?
Erasmus: I hope to make a top ten, but I highly doubt it
Don Hamstre Team: I would love to win it, because the trophy is awesome! But to be realistic, with a Sirjani just coming back from Fast on Wheels, I do not expect to get a podium. I would however not be pleased with anything less than a result.
Snubles Bubbles: I honestly do not have much expectations. I have recently climbed from division nine to division six, without any races in between, and this will be my first race at division six, so I am very unsure of the level. As I see, my captain Kevin Nyland is the fourth best climber in the peloton, but he does lack some other important skill, not to say a good supportive team. I therefor recon this to be more of a work out session to experience how the level is. If I can get a top ten spot, i will be very happy.
Big Z: The goal for the Bali Classic is to place Benne Berghmans in the top ten.
masterzeike: As any other race that i get in, my team objective is the best classification possible.
Durban Dolphins: McNab top nine. He has won his last three races in lower divisionss and is not maxed.
Sky Youth Devolpment: Top nine with Axel... He will not be in topform though.
Kudus: Considering its our third classic. Having raced the division eight and division seven classics previously. I would be happy with a top nine and realistically that is all I can hope for. But with the way things are I a would really be happy with a podium.
Team Specialized Cycling: I managed to get fourth last season and hope to be able to get somewhere near that although I have my doubts. Sorting by average my riders are a bit to far off the top to really have any big hopes, I know the average is not all but it is a quick indicator. For the tactics; we are going for dual captainship and hope for the best.
Handelsbanken: Since I am not one of the main contenders or outsiders, I do not really have ambitions with Bäckstedt as my captain. I hope that he, with all the support the team has, will rise above all expectations to deliver at least a result. But that is going to be hard to realize with all those great climbers from other teams.
denbosch: First ambition was te be top three, but in the last race the best helper of Chistiaan de Maar, Kasper de Wolf was injured, So new ambition is top six.
teamsi: I would be happy with top 5.
Albiceleste: Winning LOL
Team Weeny: Winning.
Leave comments below, about what can be improved, what you liked and what you do not like. I will try and do a newspaper page ever Sunday about general things in OCM. If you have any suggestions, then leave a comment or PM me.
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