Written by Finz of NightmareChaos
The fourth edition of the hommage to Sandro Montelbano around the town of Montelbano. We weclome again some interesting teams. Some with a bigger histroy then other but still, all are decent and with their own desire to do good.
Bing Team
The Norwegian Bing Team join with sprinter Elijah Rogasch as their main captain. He is a good sprinter, young and in top condition. They want to win at least a stage and maybe a little bit more. If only he was trained in the timetrial section.
jmtoler
The first team that is keen on winning the tour is American jmtoler. With both Victorino Gonzaga and Coby Livingston they have two good riders to win the General Classification. The Spaniard is the youngest and they are probably giving him the captain's role but Coby will fight for what he is worth also.
BCTeam
Maybe Edoardo Giofriola can give BCTeam something or will Nari Iacone do something special again. Both riders are special in their own kind but Giofriola is more suited for this tour to claim the top spot of the team.
nonnies
Will Alan Klostergard be once more able to shine or will he be passed by Norwegian sprinter Morten Holen. In the end the time trial stage will determine who will go for the best spot in the team. Morten Holen will be trying his best to become the rider no one can oversee.
Manisaspor
The Turks of Manisaspor are racing for Erdal Ozkan. This rider is decent on the time trial sections and is able to ride over the hills around Montelbano. His fatigue will give him the edge on either doing good in the tour or doing great.
Pomada
Pomada is going for the Youth Classification with Yann Tranchant. The French sprinter already finish second and now he wants to win it. With some decent results this rider is already gaining momentum but a victory is all that is missing on his palmares.
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Will they change nation or will they stay in rainy England. With Balduin Lehmann they have a hot favourite for the General Classification and he is in topform also. This German team from England is eager to get at least one rider in the top maybe more.
CK Hymer
Swedish CK Hymer is joining the teams in Italy with an all Swedish team filled with riders that will go for an early breakaway. They are not all that and mainly they are good in the mountains.
squadra sora
When you are talking about favourites one should not leave out Hunter Samuels. The Scotsman for squadra sora is a great sprinter when the roads are roling through the fields and with a decent timetrial in his legs we should see this rider up high.
Eriknogwat
Eriknogwat is coming with Jozua Bodde and he wants to win the Giro di Montelbano and is very much in the lead before the tour has started. Only disaster can hold Bodde off from a podium finish. With the decent support he should finish close on the sprint stages and finish it off in the second stage.
Vitória FC
The Portuguese Vitória FC are here for an upset victory with their team of lucky losers. They will not play any significant part in the tour and will try to launch themselves in an early breakaway.
mikai
Dutch team mikai is working for Jan-Peter Werff and this is a rider that should surprise at the timetrail and win the first stage and when he does that he can win the tour. We fear that is wishful thinking and that the rider will only do good in the sprint stages and maybe win one but will loose too much to finish up high in the General Classification.
Hommerts Cycling Team
Will Yrjänä Sistonen be able to win again after a season of nothing. He is still good enough to be a contender for the General Classification. And we will see him in front with the other favourites. Probably not good enough for a victory but a very good perfermance is
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Super Velo
Super Velo is riding for Brooke Wilbur, the Englishman that is a good sprinter. He is keen to win the last stage on Giro di Montelbano to give his season a first victory already. After a third place in Spain he wants to beat that result.
Team Trier
Team Trier is in division three now. With Farley Redman they have a decent rider but not suited for this tour. Wil this team score many points, no, this time Team Trier will not be amongst the favourites. An early breakaway is what can give them a victory.
logoloos
Keith Randolph is the sprint captain for logoloos and he begins his tour with problems. An injury for his leadout will give him less support then needed and an early set back. Still a good result is possible if he plays his cards right.
VC Botafogo
VC Botafogo from Brazil is in Italy with Matthijs Telkamp, an extremely good sprinter but in this tour he is lacking that little bit extra. Time trial experience. And that is what will cost him the win. A stage win is possible and pretty much needed for this rider.
Sekos Team
Feliks Dziuba could surprise for Sekos Team but we think he will not. A decent trimetrial could give him a top nine finish in the General Classification and that is all they can hope for. Still a decent result if the manage that.
Telstra
Darcy Rodwell is here to do the hard work for Telstra again. They can and if they are doing it right they can go for a podium spot on the General Classification. And a victory is also possible although they are not the number one favourite in my book.
Grant Thornton
Douglas McKenzie is riding for Grant Thornton and he want to win the last stage. He can do it with the support he brings. The lack of time trial training will give him no chance in the General Classification but a result would be cheered.
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