Hello everyone, this season I decided to write a team-by-team analysis for this season's Nederlandse Tour. Hope you enjoy it and who knows... start writing your own previews.
 1 2 Cycle:
Possible captain: Lambert Van Der Gijp or Herberto Orozco - ***
LO train: ***
Despite not having a TF captain, 1 2 Cycle hopes their experience on the Tour will pay off and get them the results they want. With this season's peloton it will be hard though...
 CCFC:
Possible captain: Otto Skoglund (TF) - *****
LO train: *
CCFC brings here the "OCM's Martin Odegaard" as I like to call him. This youngster (23 yo) has everything he needs to win this Tour, BUT his LOs don't have the necessary level to help him. Still, who knows he might be able to join another team's LO train and manage to win some stages (and the GC+YC).
 Cloud Atlas:
Possible captain: Lázaro Souto Maior (TF) - ***
LO train: **
It will be hard for Lázaro to get any kind of result on the sprinting stages of the Tour, but pay attention to him on the prologue! His TTing skills combined with the good form he can bring to the Tour might be the perfect mix to surprise some managers\!
 Cremtec:
Possible captain: Laurens Bruaene - **
LO train: *
Bruane will have a very hard time to get a result. All aimed for the hilly stage to try to get something out of the Tour (13th last season).
Drake Racing:
Possible captain: Nico Grasmaaijer or Sebastiano Catalan (both on TF) - ***
LO train: **
Despite the good age/TF combination, without TT skills it will be hard for any of them to win the Tour. Still who knows what they can do. But surely, they won't be able to fully trust their LOs.
 Equipo Easy On:
Possible captain: Pelo Nfiele - **
LO train: **
Nfiele is a great hilly sprinter and Rushdi Mohjez is a great TTer. 2 stage results, that's all EEO can aim for.
 Glamourade:
Possible captain: Fonzo Mejia - **** or Sidney Massangu - ***
LO train: *****
One of the strongest sprinting teams in OCM brings the Spanish beast, Fonzo Mejia. Yes, he won't be on TF, but still, it's always tremendously hard to compete against his big experience! And with that team behind him… wow! It will be very very interesting to watch his performance against the TF captains! If Glamourade decides to go with Massangu they’ll also be a big threat (especially on the prologue). Only time will tell how this team will attack the Tour.
Kingstowm:
Possible captain: Yefim Suprunov (TF) or Gerard Oosterhof - ***
LO train: ****
Kingstowm will have a hard choice to make. Either go with Yefim on TF, or with Gerard. The first is a TF TTer and the 2nd is a great sprinter. Hopefully the prologue will decide his captain alone and for the rest of the stages, Kingstowm brought the necessary resources to lead any of the captains.
 Kremer:
Possible captain: no one
LO train: *
A TT squad with a hiller (Maks Jastrz?bski). 2 stage results is all they can aim at.
 NightmareChaos:
Possible captain: Yulian Abdulov - ***
LO train: ****
A team used to help Yulian in any kind of race! But this time he won’t be on TF. Will it be enough to get a result? It’s hard, but as we all know, we can expect anything from this Russian team!
Quick step minded:
Possible captain: Ayman Dawud (TF) - ****
LO train: ***
There isn’t a lot of riders able to win the hilly stage, but Ayman is clearly one of them. If you mix it with his TT skills, we might have here a NL Tour winner! Not the best ever LO train behind him so Ayman will have to hope for a good result on the prologue and hilly stage and forget the rest.
 Rigana:
Possible captain: Jordão Bento (TF) - **** or Tyson Fish (TF) - ***
LO train: ***
I know I’ve wrote Tyson as a possible captain, but knowing Rigana and Jordão as I know, I’m sure he’ll be the captain. Jordão is much better than you think he is! Despite his fragile appearance, he can race on flat roads as quick a train! He’ll be one of | | the dark horses!
Rode Stier:
Possible captain: Evan Thomson (TF) - ***
LO train: *
A TT team with a TTer on TF. Will complicate the pure sprinters on first stage but will be hard to stay on the first spots during the Tour.
 Silver Giant:
Possible captain: Cyriaque Simukeka (TF) - **
LO train: **
Yes, Cyriaque will be on TF… but is he good enough (193 SP points) to beat the pure beasts without TF? His LO train won’t help.
 Spin Doctors:
Possible captain: Sherlock Toll (TF) - ***
LO train: ***
Spin Doctors brings a captain on TF but without TT skills. So it will be hard to aim for the victory. But I’m sure Sherlock will be able to get some results.
sprint4live:
Possible captain: Dries Schuurman or Djowie Molhoek - ***
LO train: *****
If any of them were in TF, they would be Top favorites for the final victory. Unfortunately sprint4live decided not to have TF. I’m sure they will be able to get many Top 9s, but more than that…. Hm….
Team AEK:
Possible captain: Kevin Surface (TF) or Minas Dadakos (TF) - *****
LO train: *****
Top favorite on Top team! Any of them will be unbeatable! That’s why Team AEK and I know that they cannot be on TF! The chance of a disaster is too big… There is not much else to say about them: TF, TT centered and on the 60s on HL. Can anyone beat them?
 Team EksilFG:
Possible captain: Daníel Jatgeirsson (TF) - ****
LO train: ***
Team EksilFG comes to this Tour not with their best rider as captain, but with their 2nd row on TF. And what a 2nd row! Daníel is a pure sprinter with an amazing technique and some TT skills that will help him on the prologue and on the flat stages. Problem here might be the hilly stage. But, if Daníel has a good advantage before that stage, it will be very hard to catch him! Put your eyes on him!
Team JAN:
Possible captain: Fabrice Herinckx - ***
LO train: *****
You might not believe this, but Team JAN won’t have any TF captain on the NL Tour! This time Fabrice, the winner of last edition, will have a hard time to get the final victory once again. No complains about his LO train, nor his TT skills, but it is mandatory to be on TF to have any chance on this Tour. What is the Belgian rider expecting from this Tour? What can we expect from him? Questions, so many questions…
 Team Unibet:
Possible captain: Albin Dziedzic - ***
LO train: ****
Another big sprint team on the NL Tour this season… but no TF! Albin will have a very hard time to get the results he’s used to. What a peloton we’ll have…
The Broad Backs:
Possible captain: Hajnal Iván (TF) - ****
LO train: **
This super captain deserved a better LO train! Not the best ever SP stat, but he won’t have a problem in any of the stages! Will be fun to watch him fallow the other team’s LO trains and maybe get a stage victory. Another black horse here!
V02maXXers:
Possible captain: Koert de Boer (TF) - *****
LO train: **
Ladies and gentleman, it’s time for your to meet Mr. Koert de Boer, who sooner or later will eventually win this competition! No doubt about that! Will it be this season? Hard to know due to the competition, but with his age advantage his chances are high! No black horse here, a true big big favorite!
 YCO:
Possible captain: Alton Train - ***
LO train: *
YCO brings Alton as captain as usual. Will it give them a result? Hard to believe so, but Alton is surely the best man to give them the so needed results! YCO, where are your LOs?
 Yuri SuperTeam:
Possible captain: Perceval Lasalle (TF) - ****
LO train: *****
Perceval will have his first (and last) chance to lead the team on the NL Tour. The help is there and the skills are, too. He will have to use the hilly stage to get the necessary time to maybe be able to win the Tour.
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WHAT A PELOTON WE’LL HAVE THIS SEASON! No doubt about that. I believe is one of the best we ever have. The final winner will have a special feeling when lifting the prize in the air!
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