Written by Lamme Frans of V02maXXers
  
  Twenty teams signed up pretty quick for the thirteenth edition of the Monte Rosa Tour which takes the peloton through the mighty mountains of the Swiss Alps. An iconic race for OCM’s climbers it is. Is Tamati Lima, Velo Kiwi, able to defend his title or will we see another rider stand up and claim the pink jersey. Let us take a look at the route.
  
  Stage 1: Bern Prologue
  The thirteenth Monte Rosa Tour departs in the Swiss capitol city Bern, with a short prologue through the old town. This one is for the specialists in the field. GC contenders might lose some time here. Riders to watch here are Curro Calatrava, Silver Giant, Riemer Venenberg, Penendal Racing, and Servaas van Glabeeke, Oekiewakkie.
  
  Stage 2: Bern – Lausanne
  The second stage leads from Bern to the French speaking part of Switserland, Lausanne to be exact. The riders have to overcome a lot of tough hills, but the major climbs will show up in the days after. Favourites for stage two are Olaf van Damme, Sprintje bergop, Reinier van der Sar, Penendal Racing, and defending champion Tamati Lima, Velo Kiwi.
  
  Stage 3: Lausanne - Monte Rosa
  Stage 3 is the king stage of Monte Rosa Tour, one of the most prestigious stages in cycling. The giant pink mountain will be ascended and time gaps will be huge. It is the moment of truth and glory for the climbers in the peloton, who can lay a very firm foundation for the general classification. The winner might put on the MRT ‘ugly pink ain’t ugly’ leaders tricot. Gill Ingels, KK Fajfa, Terada Kazuki, Joss, and Gerlof Pothuizen, Penendal Racing, have good odds here.
  
  Stage 4: Lugano - Sankt Moritz
  The Monte Rosa Tour continues then in Lugano. Stage 4 finishes in the former winter Olympic Games host city Sankt Moritz. This stage is not as demanding as the king stage, but it won’t be a day off for the climbers in the peloton. The GC can still be lost in this stage. Olivier Wittendorp, Cyclomotive, Iosia Nepia, Velo Kiwi, and Felipe Maximiliano, Oekiewakkie, might take a shot at a stage win here.
  
  Stage 5: Genève – Genève
  After stage 4 the GC is all set. Stage 5 is a parade race around Lac Léman. The few sprinters in the field will try to cross the finish line in Genève first. Victor Pardo, Onie, seems to be the favourite for this stage, together with Jamal White, POM Wonderful, and Nicolaas Arnolds, Onie.
  
  The teams:
  
   POM Wonderful
  Team POM Wonderful is aiming for stage wins. Manager Bolt has signed up with a sprinting team captained by Jamal White. They will do a good job on stage five and maybe earlier in the breakaways. They hope for good fortune.
  
   Oekiewakkie
  This squad is very familiar with the Monte Rosa Tour. Team Oekiewakkie took part in the first edition of this tour and several times after. Felipe Maximiliano, in topform, will be leading the squad. With his climbing and downhill abilities he is one of the main favourites for the General Classification. Servaas van Glabeeke could settle himself among the first in the prologue.
  
   Avataria
  “Tours are fun!”, says manager Chris Fabio. Team Avataria brings one of the most talented youngsters to Switzerland. Norwegian Filip Hamre will be one of the major contenders for the youth classification. He will have to battle it out with two fellow Norwegian teams: Team WonderDee, Hartmann Sadolin, and Joss, Terada Kazuki. Do not underestimate Filip Hamre. He might take a shot at the General Classification as well. Team spirit in team Avataria is quite high; rather unexperienced but definitely prepared they look.
  
   Onie
  Onie participates because he can. Just like POM Wonderful, team Onie selected a pure sprinting squad. He obviously wants to repeat his victory of the final stage two seasons back and it is very likely he will do so, with either Victor Pardo or another skilled sprinter from the team. Winning the virtual Sprinting Classification is a secondary goal.
  
   Team WonderDee
  A team debut in Monte Rosa Tour for Team WonderDee. It is still uncertain whether captain Hartmann Sadolin reaches top form, but if he does he becomes a major contender for the youth classification and maybe even the general classification. Sadolin aims for a top five in the General Classification and a top three in the Youth Classificatoin.
  
   AKROBATE
  Captain Staas Grommers finished 9th last season, without top form. He will be looking to improve his performance. Team AKROBATE bought state of the art time trial equipment. Bráulio Marcarenhas might benefit from that. Watch him in the prologue.
  
   KK Fajfa
  Team KK Fajfa makes his debut in the Monte Rosa Tour. The Belgian rider Gill Ingels is captaining the squad. He is surrounded with more then decent team mates. Ingels seems the favourite for the hill stage and in top form he will be one of the main contenders for the General Classification as well. His limited time trial abilities might

hinder him, but not too much.
  
   Treaty City CC
  Treaty City CC made it to division three right on time and was able to sign up for this tour. They will be looking for stage wins in the mountains with the skilled Irish climber Abel Wilkin. Wilkin can play a role in the Youth Classification too.
  
   V02maXXers
  Team V02maXXers enters with a team consisting of hardly above average sprinters and leadouts. Manager Lamme Frans admits he is in Switzerland for fun and gambling. The team will be put on breakaway in the mountain stages. The team is well equiped for stage five, but even in the sprinting stage of this climbing tour the competition seems too fierce for them.
  
   BCTeam
  Binda Cycling Team is one of the novices in Monte Rosa. Captain Nari Iacone did well in Fast on Wheels last season. He won the Youth Classification and finished second in the General Classification. Iacone dreams of another white jersey, but this seems not very likely. He can still be regarded as an outsider though. Iacone is accompanied by a few time trialists. They will do their utmost to get a result in the prologue.
  
   SK12KOTH
  First Monte Rosa Tour for team SK12KOTH as well. Manager Skalla picked Harlington Tlhomelang as a captain. He can be regarded as a candidate for a top nine in the General Classification and maybe engage in the battle for the top spots in the Youth Classification. South African Medwin Kannemeyer is capable of shining in the Swiss mountains alongside his captain. Elias Larsen will probably perform well in the hill stage.
  
   Silver Giant
  Captain Jean-Baptiste Ishkaya finished thirteenth in the General Classification during the tenth edition of Monte Rosa Tour. He is looking to improve on this now, but that will not be an easy task. He might do well in the mountain stages though. With Spanian Curro Calatrava a result in the prologue seems almost certain.
  
   Cyclomotiv
  With an average of 56, Olivier Wittendorp leads team Cyclomotiv. He is aiming for the General Classification and a result in the second mountain stage. Youngster Daniel Vernegren will be in top form and is able to surprise on the flanks of Monte Rosa. Maybe he can play a role at the Youth Classification too.
  
   Blue Tortoise
  Team Blue Tortoise is very excited to take part in a tour for the first time in existence. Jeffrey Ulm will be captaining the squad. He will take his chances in the mountain stages. Manager James Morton added also a time trial specialist duo to his line-up. Elijah Cox and Gerrit Warnez will do a good job in Bern.
  
   Joss
  Team Joss signed up for Monte Rosa for the second time in his existence, with Terada Kazuki, in topform, as captain. Friedhelm Kuhlmey will be there to assist his captain in the Swiss Alps, together with a few other strong climbers. Kazuki is hoping to win the youth classification, but if doing so he will turn into a major General Classification contender too . With an injured Oliver Øgendahl this team has already received a portion of bad luck before MRT even starts. He can still serve as a watercarrier though.
  
   Sprintje bergop
  Hard to say who will lead the Dutch team Sprintje bergop. They have multiple candidats. With their climbing abilities they will definitely play a role in the mountains and in the General Classification probably. Olaf van Damme has a good chance of doing well in the hill stage.
  
   Penendal Racing
  Dutchman Reinier van der Sar leads team Penendal Racing. He finished tenth in the general classification last season. With his timetrial abilities he will not lose much time in the prologue. He will have a hard time in the mountains though, due to little climbing support. He is one of the favourites for the hill stage. Riemer Veneberg, Mrackó Zsolt and Niels-Jan Spijker are able to get results in the prologue.
  
   Pomada
  Team Pomada participates with a climbing squad. Slovakian Captain Tóno Ábelovský will reach top form and can be regarded as an outsider for a top nine in the General Classification.
  
   Manisaspor
  Turkish team Manisaspor used his reserved spot to sign up. Swedish rider Ture Ivansson ended third last year. He has come back this year to defend his podium spot. It will be tough to make it to the podium again. Especially because his best team mate Spanian Cristofer Cobo suffers from an injury. He has been replaced before sign-up by a young native rider.
  
   Velo Kiwi
  Team Velo Kiwi has always been very successful in this tour. Tamati Lima won it already twice. Can he do it a third time in four appearances. It will not be easy this time for Lima. It is uncertain whether Lima will reach top form. He will definitely need it to play a role in the General Classification again. With Iosia Nepia and Julian Apple he is well surrounded in the Alps. That is for sure.