Written by Michael of English Sprinting Team
  
  Welcome to the preview for the twenty eighth edition of Germany Tour! In this preview I’ll be doing a detailed report on each team, each stage and there will be a public vote about who will win the classifications and stages.
  
  Team Presentations:
  
   WV De Dommel
  Team Leader: Bjarne Dandanell
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form
  Goals and Expectations: The general and youth classification victories
  
   Nairobi City Cycling Club
  Team Leader: Fabio Sosa
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: Top 9 finishes on sprint stages and time trial stages
  
   EricV
  Team Leader: Ståle Thorbjørnsen
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form
  Goals and Expectations: The general classification victory
  
   Drapeau Noir
  Team Leader: Melvyn “Melvynator” Jégou
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: The sprinting classification victory and sprint stage wins
  
   Gradient Levellers
  Team Leader: Santiago Campelo
  Riders in Top Form: The captain is top form ready, but we don’t know if the manager will use it or not
  Goals and Expectations: Without top form I'm hoping for a few top3s and possibly challenging for the SC. Though it will depend on which other sprinters are in top form
  
   Glamourade
  Team Leader: Victoriano Parilla
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: Top 3 in the sprinting classification
  
   Peddelen
  Team Leader: Etienne Brandt
  Riders in Top Form: The captain is top form ready, but we don’t know if he’ll use it
  Goals and Expectations: Results in the sprinting stages of this tour
  
   NECFTW
  Team Leader: Pétur “Peturrr” Snælaugursson
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form as well as Ilkka Hovi
  Goals and Expectations: Make Peturrr the undisputed king of Germany Tour
  
   Kremer
  Team Leader: Wit Bruaene
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form
  Goals and Expectations: I hope to get a top3 in SC, but it will be hard to beat riders like Campelo and Gabbrielli. Bruaene will probably fight with Etienne Brandt for 3rd position in SC
  
   Jonas Pro Cycling
  Team Leader: Julius Maaskant
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: The last two seasons I have gotten 2nd in the SC. But this edition the sprint field is the strongest I have ever seen. It's going to be a sprint fest. So my expectations aren't that high. I’ll be happy if I can get just one podium and top 9 from the sprint stages. Also I hope for a podium and some top 9 from my time trialists
  
   Team Majones
  Team Leader: Time trial team, so no individual leader
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: Results in the time trial stages
  
   Yuri SuperTeam
  Team Leader: Tadaki Ko and maybe Perceval Lasalle
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: The goal is the sprinting classification obviously, but since the competition there is huge it’ll be hard to win it. Perceval Lasalle might get a chance in the hilly stages. It will be very difficult to complete this goal, so some good results will also be very welcome.
  
   Il Grillo
  Team Leader: Egan Barlow
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: The youth classification victory. Hasn’t got the best of support as other races have taken priority
  
   Red Star
  Team Leader: Dražen ?etnik
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form
  Goals and Expectations: A top 3 in the general classification
  
   Cykelmyggen
  Team Leader: Antonio Gabbrielli
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form
  Goals and Expectations: we hope to be a contender to the win the sprinting classification, but it'll be tough with all the great sprinters in this tour
  
   Comfius
  Team Leader: Best suited to the stage
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: Some top 9 results in the hill and mountain stages
  
  

Stroopwafel
  Team Leader: Brend Roussel and possibly Jan Hilberts
  Riders in Top Form: No top form
  Goals and Expectations: A couple of top 9 stage finishes
  
   Team Unibet
  Team Leader: Addison Tungate
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form as well as Fons Reiling, Valentijn Hulzebos, Tanguy Ibanez and Jonathan Sturkenboom
  Goals and Expectations: The general classification victory and a stage win, but would be happy with a top 6 in the general classification and a couple of podium results
  
   Team Celeste
  Team Leader: Jerry Grundin
  Riders in Top Form: The captain is top form ready, but we don’t know if he’ll achieve it in time
  Goals and Expectations: Unfortunately André was injured recently and hasn't yet recovered fully so he won't participate. The team is still fairly strong, especially in the long climbs. Jerry has improved his TT and took a surprising TT victory last week. With good climbing and decent time trialing we hope to see him top ten, perhaps top five overall. Some good stage results would also be nice
  
   Matrix Team
  Team Leader: Jørn Therkildsen
  Riders in Top Form: The captain will be in top form
  Goals and Expectations: The youth classification victory and a top 9 in the general classification
  
  Stage by Stage
  
  Stage 1:
  The Kiel prologue is quite a long prologue that will favor time trialists more than sprinters. The wind speed won’t be high, so the time trial won’t favor the high flat road time trialists.
  My favourites for this stage are Eli Rictor, Bogoljub Brati? and Rene Schimmel.
  
  Stage 2:
  Kiel – Bremen is one for the sprinters. It’s profile should suit the technical sprinters more than the flat road sprinters, but there isn’t much difference between the two. Again, as in the first stage, there’s hardly any wind.
  My favourites for this stage are Tadaki Ko, Julius Maaskant and Santiago Campelo.
  
  Stage 3:
  Another sprint stage, but this time it’s a pure flat road sprint. Sprint and flat road are as nearly as important as each other, then the secondary stats are technique and hill. There’s more wind this time, but not enough to interest the managers I think.
  My favourites for this stage are Melvyn Jégou, Antonio Gabbrielli and Tadaki Ko.
  
  Stage 4:
  The first real stage for the climbers and hillers is Cologne - Frankfurt am Main and it’s main necessity is hill closely followed by climbing and downhill. The wind won’t play a part in this stage again.
  My favourites for this stage are Bjarne Dandanell, Ståle Thorbjørnsen and Dražen ?etnik.
  
  Stage 5:
  You could class the last stage as a hill climb, well then you can class this stage as a hill sprint. Sprinters with the highest hill stat should do the best in this stage. It must be a calm week in Germany because there’s hardly any wind again.
  My favourites for this stage are Joshua Dabney, Nicolau Comin and Santiago Campelo.
  
  Stage 6:
  The first climbing stage is the Heidelberg – Freiburg. It’s a “pure” climbing stage meaning that climbing, downhill and hill are the main stats needed and the sprinting stats are virtually irrelevant. Again, no wind!
  My favourites for this stage are Jerry Grundin, Dražen ?etnik and Bjarne Dandanell.
  
  Stage 7:
  The stage that the climbers will all dread is the 59km time trail around Munich. For the first time in the tour, the wind will be high and will certainly produce big time gaps. The time trial riders with the highest stat combination should win this one.
  My favourites for this stage are Melvyn Jégou, Thanassis Dadakos and Rene Schimmel.
  
  Stage 8:
  This stage, Munich – Kempten, is a climbing downhill one, with the secondary stat hill necessary. The wind shouldn’t play much of a part in the racing, but it’ll be noticeable.
  My favourites for this stage are Jerry Grundin, Dražen ?etnik and Addison Tungate.
  
  Stage 9:
  Second hill sprint of the tour is Leipzig – Potsdam. It demands the same amount of sprint as hill. Then flat road and technique are equally necessary. The wind won’t play a part in this stage.
  My favourites for this stage are Joshua Dabney, Santiago Campelo and Tadaki Ko.
  
  Stage 10:
  The final stage ends in Berlin as is a pure sprinters stage. Sprint stat will be the key for this stage. It will be a bit windy in this finale, so even though the flat road stat is equally required to the technique stat, the flat road sprinters will be less affected by the wind.
  My favourites for this stage are Victoriano Parilla, Tadaki Ko and Antonio Gabbrielli.
  
  General Classification:
  I think that Dražen ?etnik, Jerry Grundin and Bjarne Dandanell are the favourites. Pétur Snælaugursson and Jørn Therkildsen should do well as well.
  
  Sprinting Classification:
  Tadaki Ko, Santiago Campelo and Melvyn Jégou should do the best. Then Antonio Gabbrielli, Wit Bruaene, Julius Maaskant and Etienne Brandt should be close by.
  
  Youth Classification:
  Egan Barlow, Jørn Therkildsen and Bjarne Dandanell should be the ones to battle it out for the win.