Written by Hans of Svalbard Trek
  
  And to one of the newer tours this season. The four stage tour Haute – Normandie is about to start again, and the start line is full of potential victors and it should be a closely fought race on the wet and slippery cobbles of northern France.
  
  Team Wonderdee were the first team to sign up, bringing a strong team to the plains of Normandy. However, their team is predominantly made of sprinters with only one recognised cobbler, Johannes Nymoen. Their lead out train should be very powerful, targeting the last stage but it may struggle to keep the Norwegian cobbler in contention for a high GC finish.
  
  The only Canadian team, YCO, will be looking for a high GC standing at the the end of the race. Raivis Rukmans is not in top form but his cobbling abilities should see him make the final roster. He has had the team built around him with four other cobblers around him and Alton Train, his lead out man. They could also be in serious contention for the wins on the second and third stage. The team has previously done well at this tour and the Minsk cobble classic and will look to improve on their trophy cabinet and Rukmans will look to improve on his fifth place finish in the second edition of this race.
  
  ekaitz team is another that will look to finish on the final podium in this seasons tour. They have had a storming start to the season, winning the Giro di Montelbano already. This time Estebe Pimental, winner of the Giro, will play team mate to Torstein Høyland who will target the final podium of the tour and stages 2 and 3. However Pimental should target the prologue especially as he is in top form. This team has the potential to win two tours right at the start of the season, and not many would bet against them getting success at some point in their second attempt at the tour.
  
  blast, the Argentinian team, are also entering their second Haute - Normandie tour. Their Colombian leader will hope for results but the lack of a strong team in depth and his growing age may mean that the team will slip to lower levels than hoped. He does have the advantage that he can time trial to an extent but will it be enough to get him on the podium. Stage victories will be his target on stages 2 and 3.
  
  Opium Fueled are entering with Rodolfo Gomez as their captain. He is strong on the cobbles but he does not have a strong enough sprint to win a bunch sprint finish, so he will have to distance his competitors on the cobbles. He should have some team mates left at the end of the race and his team will hope for a top five GC finish for him. The team manager will hope that his team does not come under too much more scrutiny after allegations appeared that their team name arose from their heavy use of opium in the belief that it made riders quicker.
  
  English Sprinting Team was next in the queue. Sorry, who? Yes I will repeat that. English Sprinting team. They, surely, have no GC aspirations and can only hope to win stage four.

Even then, it seems as if one of their lead out train won't be in full working order, Marvin Hutchcraft is still finding form after a nasty injury.
  
  radu was next and they seem to have a strong team for the cobbles. Ronaldinho Viana will lead the team and despite the clear ability he has at sprinting, some will doubt his ability on the tougher cobbled sections. He may do well with a strong team around him and should do well in the GC but a podium place may be a bit of a stretch for the 31 year old.
  
  Legia are next under the spotlight. And just like English Sprinting Team, they will hope for some breakaway success before targeting the last stage. Any hope of a high GC finish? No, but Miron Lewi?ski has some cobbling ability, so an easy race may set him up for a sprint finish victory on stage 3.
  
  
  Polish rider Ferdynand Szymczak will lead Wizzyweb, and he has a good chance of doing well here. He is strong on the cobbles and has a good sprint finish. His team is relatively strong on the cobbles and he will hope that a podium finish is within his grasp. A stage win perhaps or a decent GC finish, but a lack of top form may cost him as well as others.
  
  Greenride have come to France with a two pronged attack. The opening prologue may suit one of their time trial riders and their strong sprinting unit will put them in good stead for the final stage. Certainly a team after stage wins rather than final GC.
  
  Rigana have come to the tour with just one cobbler on their team, Carmine Damiano, and as with Team Wonderdee, the squad may find it hard to keep the Italian in touch if he loses touch on the cobbles. They will hope for a top ten finish for the Italian and will hope for further good finishes in stage 1 and 4 where they will be targeting the stage win.
  
  Quick step minded, a Belgian team. Notoriously good at riding in crosswinds, cobbles and the flat. Wait, a Belgian team with only one cobbler. 30 year old Spanish rider Natal De Caxias will lead the team, but a podium may be out of reach for him. Their target is surely to claim high finishes on stages one and four and a top ten in GC.
  
  The 24 year old dutch cobbler Kyano Wit will lead the Italian outfit IndieRock as they look to claim a high GC finish come Paris. They have a very strong squad and are a force to be reckoned with. Adley Freeny, Xever Rebuelta and Faas Bodde will be just three of an exceptionally strong squad with riders that could lead most other squads in this tour. They will hope for at least one stage victory and to squeeze onto the podium. There is even rumour afoot that they will try using two captains to promote their final position on GC.
  
  Gaspar Sarrazin will lead Cider Riders challenge on GC but the team is largely expected to do well on stage one. After that point, despite faint hopes for their GC captain of a top ten finish, a lack of a cobbling team will be detrimental to his cause and their tour could be

over after just 6km of the 560.
  
  So that is spelt O...e...k..., okay spell it yourself. Oekiewakkie will come with two cobblers and a sprinting team. They cannot be one of the favourites due to the lack of depth to the cobbling department of their squad. However, a decent GC finish is more than possible and they will be hoping for a stage win on stage 4.
  
  The home team came next, Drapeau Noir. The home fans will be rooting for the team and they should be up there with the favourites. Spanish rider Cristobal Zubizarreta will lead the team and has a good chance of fighting for a stage win especially with a team mate such as Paul Jackson on hand to guide one over the cobbles. A strong team that must have high hopes of a strong GC showing in northern France.
  
  Hommerts Cycling Team came next with a few sprinters, a few time trialers but no cobblers. Surely no GC hopes but hopes of podium finishes on stages one and four and breakaway success on two and three.
  
  Finally the Irish team. And for once a fully Irish squad. Simon Mershon will lead Burren Connemara during Haute Normandie but he can have little hope of a high GC finish. Instead the team will hope for a decent finish on stage four and maybe a stage victory on stage one.
  
  French cyclist Manu Untereiner will lead the Dutch squad of 1 2 cycle. He is in top form and has decent qualities in the cobblestones. The squad has two other relatively strong cobblers in the team which will mean support when the going gets tough, and a couple of strong men for the flat roads of northern France. This team could yet spring a surprise as they were not highly fancied for the GC win, but they may have snuck in under the radar with a squad that has a potential to do just that.
  
  And finally to NightmareChaos, the last team to sign up. During his press conference, he was overheard saying that he had been fortunate that the two team managers in front of him had been tripped. Nobody knows how they fell. Anatoly Oprinchuk will lead the team which is relatively strong. His abilities on the wet cobblestones has yet to be proved and stages two and three may prove to be his undoing if the favourites race from the off. He could still though surprise and with a strong sprinting squad also included for the tour, they could be looking at a possible stage win on stage four and a high GC finish.
  
  And so to the start we go. The cobbles start immediately in le Havre with a very small and insignificant section on the prologue route. But they are a sign of the increasingly difficult sections that the riders will have to complete. And as we head off on the eve of the prologue, the clouds are gathering, promising rain and mud. For the riders, it is the hell of Normandy, for spectators, we gear up for an exciting four stage tour in which there will be fierce rivalries formed, injuries and defeat. Among this carnage, there will be one victor, one master of the cobbles of Normandy, to be crowned king on the Champs Elysees.