Written by Lamme Frans of V02maXXers
  
  The seventh edition of Fast on Wheels is about to get started. The managers are thrilled and happy to have made it to this year's edition of this prestigious division five tour. Last year's edition was won by Victor Pardo, Onie. He will not be around to defend his title and his Sprinting Classification. The same goes for Nari Iacone, BCTeam, who won the Youth Classification last year.
  Let us take a look at the participating teams of the upcoming edition now. The team managers were asked to present their team to you. This is how they responded:
  
   aussie555
  I am hoping for some stage results with Ulrich Corryens, but he will not be in top form.
  My team is a specialist sprint team with Ulrich Corryens and the future captain Matthijs Telkamp.
  I was in Race of the Minutemen before but, only got two top nine results in stages.
  
   Hells Grannies
  The grannies from hell are back in Denmark for another go at Fast on Wheels and they are both new and improved. The major changes from last season are Solomon Albert and Eliot Wacker in and, Torgeir will not mess up his Top Form this time. I hope. Both Solomon and Eliot are going for a good place in the general classification and are both looking in good shape. Might be the last chance for these aging riders to get some glory in a tour.
  Torgeir Brenna on the other hand is young and inexperienced. He has not been performing as well as he could, but with a top form due he promises to bounce back and get in top three in the Sprint classification.
  
   Orvis
  Team Orvis is a new sprinting team with young riders. Our talented teamcaptain is Patrick Wyss. This is our first tour and we hope to get some nice sprint results.
  
   YellowFellows
  Well, my team is quite young, so this is actually my first tour. We are a sprinting team, so this is definitely a tour we have kept an eye on. Unfortunately though, we do not have such a strong team at the moment. We are in the middle of training Willard Gamblin, who will serve as a leadout and gain experience. He may very well come back next year as a captain. However for this year, the veteran of the team, Jeffrey Clement, will lead the team. We are aware of the strong competition so we do not really expect much. We are very happy and excited about participating. Any result at all will be a great bonus and a great motivation factor for the future. This could be Jeffrey Clement's last appearance for the team as we are considering to let him go after Fast on Wheels.
  
   Coasters
  Coasters is a relatively new 'sprinting' team made up of Australian riders with most being trained up from the original squad. It will be the team's first go at Fast on Wheels with the captain being Alex Bellamy who will be in Top Form. The team was developed around Alex Bellamy who has achieved numerous wins with the most significant being the division four classic Baltimore Invitational. Support riders have not been trained fully which may be a telling factor in the overall performance of the team. Expectations are high for at least one good stage result as this will be the Coasters last go at this style of race. There are plans to change the team's direction next season so a podium finish would be a great result for Alex, although a top ten finish is probably more realistic.
  
   Silver Giant
  This is my third appearance in Fast on Wheels. I have not done well here before with a twentyfirst place in the General Classification as my best result. This time around Erik Van Engelen should be in topform unless I made a mistake. With a decent team supporting him I expect a top nine in the General Classification and a few top nine classifications in the stages also. Curro Calatrava will look for a result in the timetrial. Fun fact: Calatrava is the only foreigner I ever trained and he is my only rider maxing over fifty average points. Conclusion: Do not train Burundians.
  
   V02maXXers
  This is the second appearance from team V02maXXers in Fast on Wheels. Last year we won stages three and four and ended on the podium in stages two and six. We missed the Sprinting Classification on a few points unfortunately. Captain Folkert Gerrits led all the classifications after the King stage. He lost it in the time trial due to an off day and his lack of timetrial skills. Hopefully he will do better in the classifications this year. He will be in top form with higher DP/RS compared to last year and he has visited the timetrial center now. So, we expect him to perform better classification wise. Our goal is to win a jersey, preferably the red or the blue. We do not expect Gerrits to repeat his impressive results in stages. He should still do well in stage three and in the King stage though. The team is well prepared but this is no guarentee for success.
  
   TMobile
  Well, not that much to tell about my team really. I am mostly in this tour to see what it is all about since it is my first ever tour. My team is a blend of nobodies so I have no hopes for the General Classification. Hopefully I will be able to sneak in a few results and I am hoping for a top three finish in one of the stages atleast. I put my climber as a leader which is a mistake, but my hiller or my sprinters are probably too bad anyway. None of my riders will be in top form, but they are in decent shape.
  
   En trailer med vin
  Home grown Kjartan Kolstad will lead the En trailer med vin six-pack in this year's Fast on Wheels. Everything was set and ready for top form and podium fight, but due to mechanical issues, off days and an injury in our nemesis race Sunan Street Race a week before sign up, we had to participate in Faaborg Svanninge and later Amager Gadeløb at the same day to be able to reach Division five within deadline. As a consequence the DP was messed up. Even without a top form we aim for a top five in the General Classification. After all, we have the famous Kjartan Kolstad. Regarding tactics, the coach Hrvoje Braovic stated: "It will be all about the captain during the tour. No one is allowed to leave him behind." This is our tour debut, and we have no big OCM victories so far. However, we brought home the highly recognized General Classification in 'Parkveien Grand Tour' in Season 25, up against great teams like FretexHibas, Riftes Hobbysiklister and Belmonte ProCycling. But that is a local tour around the village I live in, not as fancy as Fast on Wheels.
  
   Red Brigade CT
  For me and my team it is the first tour we are going to participate in. I really look forward to the race and hope my riders get the opportunity

to show what they are made of. Red Brigade Cycling Team was founded in season fifteen, but only started to blossom over the last two seasons. With Lai Ruilong as the team captain, the team has climbed the ranks and reached Division five. So far, Lai has been the only team leader and management built the team to support him in hill sprint races. Recently, also Gerard Cygan has come to the foreground as he came in third in Monaco Nocturne. Although he is not maxed yet, he is already just as good as Lai. Fast on Wheels will be his chance to show what he is really made of. He is being prepared to reach top form a few days before and will act as the team's captain. In prepation he will also compete in Rou Sous Barry.
  It seems only logical that Red Brigade CT will focus on doing well with Gerard Cygan in the hill stages. Especially the King stage seems to suit him well. Red Brigade really need to score in this tour to avoid relegation.
  
   lexx
  This edition of Fast on Wheels will be our first tour. We are participating with a timetrial specialist, three climbers and two novices, nobody in topform and no chance at all. But with Paul Villemin, we will see what happens in the timetrial stages, because maybe we can achieve some points and money. This time, not winning is a possibility, within some seasons that will change.
  
   DCM
  DCM has a rough season. Many transfers, not many results. But we are back better than ever with a strong Hill team. This tour we are hoping for some stage results with Robert De Meulder, Sevastian Torrens or Ketil Boisen. Our goal is a top three result on the king stage. This is our second tour, our first tour was Race of the Minutemen. In the American race we won the last stage. We have never won a jersey and we are not gonna use topform.
  
   qazpl
  It is my second tour with my all Portuguese squad. A couple of seasons back, I raced in Race of the Minutemen, the ninth edition. That was my first tour. Helio Ginjeira finished sixth overall. Funny thing about that tour was the fact I never asked for a wildcard because I did not need it and I still do not need it, except for the part to watch full results. That is the reason why I have it now. I had to ask other managers for the results. It is a good thing we have a good friendly community but, now I can look for it myself. For Fast on Wheels no rider will be in top form. I will have two captains: Hélio Ginjeira and Leandro Queirós. Since Queirós is not time trial centered I have no hopes for him in the General Classification and just try to wrap up a stage win. Ginjeira with a bit a luck may try to fight for top nine in the General Classification and if he can not, he will help Queiros.
  
   Dr Fuentes Rasselbande
  My team is from Germany and apart from Pedro and Simo an all German squad. That is important for me. Do not forget where you are coming from and maybe even supporting the national team with German riders. I have two captains usually but in Fast on Wheels all riders work for Ferdinand Gott. He is in top form. I think he is well suited and has decent support for this tour, but competition is strong, I have no equipment or staff. Ferdinand Gott is not maxed yet and has not seen a timetrial center because of that, the General Classification is not something we talk about. But I hope for some nice stage results, some money and points. I am a bit excited because this is my first tour, hope it is fun and I gain some experience. But I can not say what he is able to achieve. My mentor Cancellor told me how to train Gott and to join Fast on Wheels. Now he is afraid that I can do better than him. And yes, Gott means god. But maybe we keep a nickname for later.
  
   Ocelot
  Team Ocelot is a fairly new team, which has just been promoted to division five. The team will be led by captain Niklas Solheim, who will be in good shape. It is the first tour for this team, so expectations are not sky high. Solheim should be able to get some results in the sprints though.
  
   Buckingham Sprinters
  First tour ever for the team. Do not think the team will manage to get a top ten in the overall, but the riders are enthusiastic and will give it a try. Lars Fallis is captain, he has one victory in a lower division this season, in the Kfar Haoura Race. Stan Sisters is the primary assistant with three victories during current season. Stan peaked early and is not expected to be able to maintain top form for the tour. The team has a hard time finding sponsors and are not sure to survive into the next season, so a few good stages would mean much.
  
   Cyclists
  The team I signed up with is a climbing team originally, but I never signed up to a tour, so I really wanted to be finally in a tour. My captain, Chad Talkington, will be in top form for at least the first days, but I have no idea when his topform will end. I dream of a top nine in the General Classification and, maybe in a stage, but I do not expect anything. It is my first tour, so I am really looking forward to it.
  
   Twente Cycling Team
  Twente Cycling Team has a special connection with Fast on Wheels. It is our first and, so far, the only jersey we won. Sten Hallkvist was winner in season twenty-three. This year our captain will be Roman Petrescu, who was second in season twenty-four while unmaxed. And he finished second in this years Race of the Minuteman. Let us hope he will finally be number one this time around. Our squad also contains last year's number three, Nathan Mulder, and former king stage winner Hans-Cees Zimmer. Our ultimate goal is to be the first team in the history of Fast on Wheels to win the General Classification twice. We would also like to win the timetrial, we are two out of two currently.
  
   ALAITZ ATHLETIC TEAM
  The team that I will present in the output line Fast on Wheels, is a group of young cyclists.
  The team leader is not fully defined, and the spread road who will define it. Given the characteristics of the race, with two time trials, I believe that Luther Seybold can get good results. We participated in the second edition of Fast on Wheels, where Dalton Payne won the Youth Classification.
  
   Budapesti VSC
  It is gonna be our second participation in Fast on Wheels, the first one was two seasons ago. Brice Claridge finished third in stage two then. This season our captain will be Tom Boronyák. I would be happy with a top nine in the General Classification. Unfortunately our two youngest riders were injured during the sign up and we will miss them mainly on the hilly stages. Our roster is now a mix of sprinters, Brice Claridge, Elmer Melville, Árki Tihamer and pace setters Czitkovics Roland and Jochem Vonk.