(written by Michael of Team Dinmore)
  
  In just 4 days time, the whole of OCM will watching as the second tour of the year, the Cymru Taith, begins. It also starts one of the busiest weeks in the OCM calendar, with the Perm Tour just a day later, meaning a bumper week for cycling fans. In just the race’s 3rd edition it has already secured a large fanbase and each year brings much tourism to this beautiful country.
  
  Stage 1 takes the riders from Welshpool to Bangor over a hilly 167km with a quick visit to Snowdonia. Race organisers have been criticised for not putting more big climbs onto the route, but the fans will surely line the gravel roads on Mount Snowdon to cheer on their heroes.
  
  Stage 2 involves a night transfer down to the south of the country before a 35km test against the clock around the streets of Newport. This will no doubt be where the overall champion will be crowned. Riders will be hoping for the dry conditions that happen so rarely in Wales, otherwise there may be a few casualties on the slippery streets. The fact that the route is not flat will definitely influence the result, and a number of climbers may manage to put in the performance of a lifetime to gain hold of the leader’s jersey and deny the time trialists.
  
  Stage 3 finishes off this whirlwind tour of Wales with a 168km stage to Cardiff from Newport. The road layout somewhat resembles a super-special rally stage and it will be a challenge for the riders not to get lost!

But the far bigger challenge is how to prise the stage away from the sprinters, with the route being pan flat bar the last 50km. There are two hills near the end which may give a few lucky riders the chance to escape.
  
  Like the Volta, one of the big stories so far is the fact the all of the stage winners and the leaders from the GC last year are absent. This means that the men who have the experience here are the wonder climber Frank van Galen and Ramiro Monteros of Il Grillo and Team Dinmore respectively.
  
  There are a few clear favourites for the second stage time trial in Newport - Ximenes Platas (Silencio), Salvino Zubeldia (Yuri Super Team), Verner Nyborg (Silencio) and Bruno van Steensel (SquareWheels). These four are the men with the best outright time trialling ability but the hills in the stage could favour other riders, such as Christoph Frisch (Team iPower) or Ramiro Monteros (Team Dinmore), the best of the climbers in this discipline.
  
  Stage 3 hands the baton over to the sprinters to finish off the tour in style. Despite there being no sprinters’ green jersey, there are plenty of fast men signed up and it’s hard to see any other outcome from this stage other than a group finish. The main men for the stage must surely be Dan Korošec (Team iPower), Matthijs Telkamp (SprintingKings), Pierre Nieuwendijk (deadalus) and Pascal Juszczak (Legia). Welsh fans will, however, be cheering on local favourite Forrest Levin (CycleGoats) though his lack of form may mean home fans will be

left disappointed.
  
  The race for the overall GC will surely be fought over the hills of the first stage and then be decided in the time trial. One man in with a shot at glory is Isaak Papadimitriou whose team, Club Ciclista Riaza, is by far the strongest in the field. Other riders to be watched out for include Ramiro Monteros (Team Dinmore), Christoph Frisch (Team iPower), Frank van Galen (Il Grillo), Felix Holm (Team Unibet) and (on the proviso they climb well) Matthijs Telkamp (SprintingKings) and perhaps Salvino Zubeldia (Yuri Super Team). These men will be fighting for, rather confusingly, the green jersey and will hope to do well in the GC. In fact the top will be so tight that bookmakers have refused to name a favourite for this race.
  
  The final accolade on offer is the White Jersey and there are only a few contenders for the jersey in Isaak Papadimitriou, Felix Holm and Dan Korošec. Papadimitriou could take his second of the year having already taken the award at the Volta but he would no doubt be disappointed with once again missing out of the top prize, even with this as a consolation gift. Out of the three the favourite has to be Papadimitriou due to his greater time trialling ability and team, but if the gap is small going into the final stage don’t discount Korošec, as he would dearly love to take a jersey in the absence of the sprinters’ one.
  
  All that remains to say is good luck to all those who ride, and may the best rider triumph come the finale on day 41!