Days 40 to 42 were some of the busiest in the OCM calendar with both Perm and the Cyrmu Taith giving cycling fans a taste of Tour action. Both Tours saw the favourites disappoint and somewhat surprising winners taking the leader’s Jerseys.
  
  Perm Tour – Enrico looking good in pink
  
  It was relative old-boy Giovanny Enrico (CCFC) who dominated Perm and showed the younger riders how a Tour should be ridden. The Italian rider added to his 3rd and 4th places in the Germany Tour with a decisive victory here. The victory was set up with a 3rd place on Stage 2’s mountain top finish and completed with a 6th place on Stage 3’s time trial. CCFC manager, Einar commented that Perm had ‘exceeded all expectations’. Enrico will now surely be looking to Germany where he has some unfinished business.
  
  Tour supremo, Vernon Kings (Fairfield Flyers Cycling), claimed second place with another display of all-round cycling. Some have questioned this rider’s climbing ability, but a 4th place in Stage 2 will silence many critics. Dirk Herman (Telek@m) finished 3rd which, following his win in the Division 1 Classic Zurich-Bern-Zurich, already makes it a successful season for the Austrian veteran.
  
  Yasir Sahir (Torreira) made an early bid to be named Tour Rider of the Season by following his popular win in the Volta with a 4th place here. Oman’s most famous cycling export put himself in contention with a powerful win on Stage 2’s mountain top finish but a relatively poor time trial on Stage 3 saw his chances of a second successful Tour podium slip away. Torreira’s manager itisix later described the rider as a ‘great champion’ and on this form few can argue with him.
  
  Yasunari Yamauchi (Gradient Levellers) has had a torrid time off it in Tours, having been injured twice and losing his bottle the other time. But he answered critics aplenty with a steady but composed 5th place, finishing only 8 seconds off the podium. Rumours that Gradient Levellers had put the rider up for sale have clearly made the rider think carefully and, if the rumours are true, it will be the Levellers who will now be thinking carefully about whether they will want to let this rider go.
  
  No other riders came close to threatening the GC but previous winners Solomon Henschel (Team Whalers) and Donny Staarman (skils) put in solid performances to come 8th and 9th respectively. Pre-race favourite Viggo Monsen (Team Whalers) had a disastrous time-trial, with mechanical problems scuppering

the rider’s race. Other favourite, Nico Holt (Ursus RT), never really threatened in what was a generally disappointing Tour for the Dutch outfit.
  
  Jens Waesbergen (Cyklista) finished top of the Sprinting Classification with 80 points. Kyle Abston (CCFC) came into the final stage, the Perm Parade, wearing the Blue Jersey but a victory for the Dutchman prevented CCFC taking a GC/SC double. Freek van Weener (skils) came 4rd with last year’s winner Torben Sturmann (Shinboners) coming 5th.
  
  Things look good for the future at Equipo Easy On, with Gregory Levis and Corwin Wyeth taking 1st and 2nd in the Youth Classification. Manager Eli was clearly frustrated with Wyeth’s lacklustre performance in Stage 2, which ruled him out the GC, but will be content with Levis’ Stage 3 time trial win.
  
  
  Cymru Taith – Holm finally at home against the clock
  
  Sweden’s Felix Holm confirmed his status as one of the best riders outside the Top Division by taking victory in Wales’ national Tour, the Cymru Taith. Holm is considered a one day race expert, with a growing list of impressive results and podium positions, but time trialling has previously let this rider down in Tours. However, after impressing on Stage 1, Holm produced one of the best time trialling performances of his career and managed to hang on to the leader's Green jersey by a mere 2 seconds. Unbelievably, the Swede crashed at the end of the final stage. However, OCM rules meant that he was given the same stage time as all other riders since the crash occurred less than a kilometre from the finish line
  
  Ximenes Platas (Silencio) was the wrong side of the 2 seconds, finishing 2nd despite an impressive 3rd place in the Stage 2 time trial. Poland’s Radek Zukaszewski (Legia) completed the podium. Il Grillo will also be feeling satisfied with this Tour. Saveli Kalinnikov’s 4th place was a pleasing result for the rider but it will be the team’s 1-2 on Stage 1 that will surely give manager, stoosh, the most satisfaction. Pre-race favourites Isaak Papadimitriou (Club Ciclista Riaza), Ramiro Monteros (Team Dinmore) and Frank van Galen (Il Grillo) all disappointed.
  
  The final word goes out to Art Cruse (Luveaucek), whose Stage 2 time trial victory left manager, Wryen Luveau, speechless. It’s been almost a season since Cruse scored OCM points and to take a stage victory in a Division 2 Tour will surely be a memory that he will cherish forever.