Written by Michael of English Sprinting Team
This is the second Grand Tour on the calendar, the division three Norway Tour. Twenty teams have signed up hoping they have what it takes to win a part of this prestigious tour!
The General and Youth Classification Battle:
WestPomeranian
Laurend Bourgois will captain this team and he’s won five races already this season! He’s certainly on fire and he’s top form ready as well. Theoretically he isn’t the best climber in the tour, but you can’t ignore his current form. He’ll have five trained team mates to help him up the mountains, so he’s also got good support. He’ll turn twenty six years old this season, so he won’t be eligible for the youth classification, but he’ll have a good chance in the general classification.
Leader ****
Support ***
Avataria
Norwegian rider Filip Hamre is top form ready and preparing to enter his sixth tour and second one of the season. As he had his birthday on day thirteen and is now twenty five, he’s eligible for the youth classification. He’ll have average support at best, but unfinished trainee Torgeir Kleppe has the ability needed to do well in the two time trials. There will be a lot of competition, but if he gets into top form for the tour, he’ll certainly have a chance.
Leader ******
Support *
Por Noster
Olimpio Djukate, from Sao Tomé and Príncipe, will be captain in this team and he’s also top form ready. He’s only ever ridden one tour before, Race of the Minuteman, and he got fifth in the general classification and second in the youth classification, but his season he won’t be eligible for that one. This captain won’t have the best support either, but with his high technical ability, he might be able to make up time in the individual time trials.
Leader *******
Support ***
Rabo utrecht CT
One of only four incredible climbers in this tour is Jesus Velazquez. This rider is a steady points collector. He hasn’t got a lot of results, but the majority of them have been in division one and two. He’s raced in the Volta three times achieving a third place in the youth classification. He won’t have top form going into this tour, but he’s shown consistency this season, racing and getting top nines in every race so far. The support won’t be great, because he’s brought two sprinters with him.
Leader *****
Support **
Joss
Now, this team has a bit of a choice to make. They have three potential captains, two of them top form ready. The first possibility is Arild Selnes. He looks like a real tour rider, and has just ridden the Volta, finishing sixth in the general classification without top form. The next one is Terada Kazuki. He isn’t top form ready, but he has one the youth classification at Monte Rosa twice and at this tour once. He also got second and third in the general classification at Monte Rosa and fifth here last season. The final option would be Friedhelm Kuhlmey, who is top form ready and has won Race of the Minuteman twice before.
Leader ********
Support ******
Cyclocomotiv
Olivier Wittendorp, over the last couple of seasons, has got some good results in tours, sixth place in the general classification at the Volta, sixth place at Monte Rosa and ninth place at Perm. He’s also top form ready, and he’ll have five team mates to help him. Will this be the tour and the season that he comes out of the woodwork and wins?
Leader ********
Support ****
Cycling Nieuwegein
Captaining this team in the mountains will be Jelmer Jol. Then in the hill sprint, I think Cisco Piza will be captain. Jol is an un-time trial centered rider, so in the general classification battle, he’ll find it hard to stay with the main contenders in the time trials. He’s raced in Cyrmu Taith three times before and once inMonte Rosa, but didn’t really make an impact. He’ll have average support because they are more used to helping Piza win hill stages.
Leader ****
Support *****
Kremer
After a brief retirement, Wojciu is back and his captain will be Dominik Uci?ski. This is another rider that looks well suited to tours. He’s won the youth classifications at Monte Rosa and at the Vuelta. He also won the general classification at Monte Rosa. He’s won for his country Poland a couple of times as well. The only problem there is, is that his team is suited for the mountains. He’ll have a team mate, a couple of hillers and a couple of sprinters for company.
Leader *******
Support ****
Conero cycling team
This team has entered with a bit of a weak climbing team compared to some of the others in this tour. We believe their captain will be Erwin Kindig, but we don’t know that for sure. He’ll be supported by a time trial rider, a sprinter and three lead outs. This captain will need quite a bit of luck to get into the top nine in this hard field of riders.
Leader *
Support *
Pomada
This teams captain, Cristos Perezs, has only been around for a couple of seasons and hasn’t got any results yet, but he is time trial centered and is top form ready. He’s scored points in division 3 and 4. He’s got three lead outs and two team mates to help him in this tour, but he will find it hard with the competition, unless he gets into top form.
Leader ***
Support **
| | Sprintje bergop
Dutch rider Olaf van Damme will captain this team. He isn’t top form ready, but he’s scored a lot of points for his team and his country. Some of his more notable performances are a fourth place at the Tour of Hawaii and a win for the Netherlands at Bruxelles – Liège. Going to this tour with him will be three pure team mates and two sprinting team mates. He might have an outside chance in the general classification battle.
Leader ******
Support **
VC Botafogo
Last season’s third place team is back again, with their captain Gerasim Filatov. He’s got more competition to beat this season, but he has one of the strongest team to support him. He hasn’t got many results to his name, but he showed a lot of potential last season in this tour. Some of his team mates include two times third place in general classification at the Volta tour, Tom Bella. This team shouldn’t do too badly here.
Leader ******
Support *******
California Mist
Last season’s runner up, Hartmann Sadolin, has changed teams for this season. He now rides for California Mist, a team focused on hillers and tour riders. The manager has hinted at the possibility of his rider being in top form for the tour. He’s got hill legend Giovanni Faulk as a team mate and another four riders to help him in the mountains and hills. Sadolin has already got five top nines in the general classification in tours and a total of ten results in tours in three seasons.
Leader *******
Support ********
Ultras Spirit
The tour winner from last season is back again and he’s top form ready! We’re talking about the American Erik Williamson. He won two stages and got second in another last season and I think he can do it again. He’s got one of the best sets of team mates in this tour and he should be in top form. The team has only achieved two results since Norway Tour last season, but Williamson has proved his ability by getting second at Bukarest – Sinaia for the USA. Don’t take your eyes of this guy.
Leader *******
Support *******
The Sprinting Classification Battle:
Hommerts Cycling Team
I know this is a time trial team, but they have a time trial rider which is also a very capable sprinter. His name is Yrjänä Sistonen and he recently transferred to this team from jmtoler. He won’t be in top form, but will it make any difference? This rider can score points in both time trials and sprints. His only Achilles' heel will be the hill sprint. He got second in the sprinting classification at Race of the Minuteman, so he’s shown potential in tours before.
Leader *
Lead Out Train ******
Onie
We suppose that the captain of team Onie will be Victor Pardo, but we’re not sure. If he is captain, he’s also top form ready. Anyway, whoever the captain is, this is an extremely strong team! They have four 200+ sprinters and a good lead out one. The supposed captain, Pardo, has got a lot of experience in tours. He’s been in Nederlandse Tour getting a few results, winning the general and sprint classifications at Fast on Wheels, and getting third in the sprinting classification in this tour last season. This team has got a big chance of winning!
Leader ***
Lead Out Train ********
V02maXXers
Folkert Gerrits, the captain of this team, made a name for himself at the division five tour Fast on Wheels, where over the last two seasons he’s got eleven results their! He also won the general and sprint classifications at the tour on the second attempt. He can be certainly classed as one of the best hill sprinter in the game and should do extremely well in stage three of this tour. If he reaches top form in time, he should have a great chance at winning the sprint classification, the only thing that could be a bit of a problem is his lead outs.
Leader ***
Lead Out Train *
Super Velo
Recently trained and still unmaxed English rider Brooke Wilbur will captain this team here. He’s a good 200+ sprinter, with average hill ability. Unfortunately he’s not top form ready. But he should still do well in this tour. He’s an unknown quantity as it were, so we don’t know what he might do. He’ll have a good lead out train to help him, four lead outs and a lead out one. I think he won’t do too badly here.
Leader ***
Lead Out Train ******
Cykelmyggen
Now comes the 236 sprinter, Antonio Gabbrielli. He participated in this race last season and only achieved one results, so he will be looking to do better this time around. He’s top form ready, but his hill ability might hinder him a bit if he’s going to win the sprinting classification. He’s also got four lead outs and a lead out one. He’s seriously got a great chance of winning the sprint classification, if he gets into top form and has a bit of luck on the hill sprint.
Leader *****
Lead Out Train ********
English Sprinting Team
Carroll Mullan has been in a quite a few tours during his career, ten in total, and has scored points in all but one of them. He might be old now, got a fourth place in the sprint stage of the Giro di Montelbano and a seventh in a hill race. He’ll have three lead outs, one lead out one and a water bottle carrier. With only five other pure sprinting teams, can he score points in his eleventh tour? I think so.
Leader ******
Lead Out Train *****
(The star system does not take into account age or top form)
Thanks to everyone who voted and thanks for reading!
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