Written by KrMees of Velosipedska
  
  Time for part 2 of the Monte Rosa Tour preview! I’ve yet again delegated the task to Velosipedska PR manager Vujadin Mileski. In the event that he wholly overestimates our chances in the preview, he will be responsible for the inevitable ridicule from the cycling community. After reading through his notes, I think he might have underestimated the GC potential of hill-strong captains, but I think the 3 and 2-star rated teams are probably the 7 strongest teams in the race this year. Star rating is based on the Captain (50%), Team Strength (30%) and Staff (20%). Let’s look at the teams!
  
  
  
  
  Favourites (***)
  Bank Lux and captain Ernst Reiswig are back after an unlucky attempt last season. A nasty 92 average CL skill is surely enough to carry Reiswig to victory? Few riders can boast having 6 tour-skills above 50. The Luxembourgians are CL-focused though, with only 51 average HL and 49 average DH in the team. Out of 14 participants with 90+ CL, 5 ride for Bank Lux. Main issue for this team is the lack of staff and the fact that one unlucky Australian has already managed to injure himself.
  
  Himalaya Bikers will lead with Amalesh Chamlagain, who won a GC in Sanreizan and got a podium place in Switzerland 2 seasons ago. Amalesh is one of the best climbers in the race, and only really lacks some TQ in his skillset. He’s also one of a few captains in TF, and probably the best rider in that select group. The Nepalese know how to win a tour and the mountain tops are their natural habitat. The captain is great and the team is strong, but mediocre staffing is also an issue for this team.
  
  Dranac Race Team can rely on a suberb Kynan Bradman. He’s 26 and starting to reach those top years for a cyclist. Kynan is pretty comparable to Chamglain, but slightly worse on the flats. The team might have fewer CL giants, but an 80+ hill helper and 80+ windbreaker could prove more important than pure climbing force. Again, staff is an issue.
  
  
  
  Also Competing For The Win (**)
  
  Vandersluis Pro Cycling are the first team to get 2 stars. Dino Lurdes is a really promising captain, but he’s probably a bit young to win it all. Solid rider for the YC though, but for greater success his team needs a few more riders and some better staff. His YC battle with Rodas de la Grosis might be a prelude to later GC battles.
  
  Vojvodina NS could be rated at 3 stars, but the team joined at the last moment and might be a bit tired. Still, Iosif Murgan is a fine rider, who’s won races in the higher divisions. Watch out for him during the hill stage. A shame he never went to the TT center though. Vojvodina is also the first team to field a half-decent staff, so that could decide those close finishes Monte Rosa is known for.
  
  Velosipedska - the defending champions - at only 2 stars? Last year, Riste Nikolovski put in a stellar performance, but 4 riders in TF and some unlucky opponents helped a lot. This time only Riste himself is in TF, but only 2 GC captains can say the same. I don’t consider him a favourite, but if he manages to win the hill stage and finish 4th in the TT again, I’ll eat my words! Riste does have an ace up his sleeve with 71 TQ, a trait he only shares with Reiswig. Velosipedska are one of a few teams with full staff.
  
  Bing Team were first to sign up and will finish off our 2 star team list. Charlie McDermott might not top all your lists, but high CL, high HL and a support squad that’s more than the sum of its parts could just do the trick. Will his high climber rating make up for his lackluster TT and FR? A solid staff section won’t hold him back. It’s been 5 seasons since Bing won a Tour, so it might be time.
  
  
  
  Outsiders (*)
  This section is mixed. Since the vast majority of the participants

are fielding a GC team, I won’t create a separate section for the specialist stages. Some of these 1 star teams are 3 star hill, sprint or TT teams, so I’ll mention their GC option and stage hunting options when applicable.
  
  Lindfield Locknuts have put their faith in Hagen Hunzberger. The whole team is nice but not amazing. Decent climbing riders, a decent captain, but nothing ridiculous. Hagen could prove me wrong though, because his tour stats are better than his 49 AVG suggests.
  
  rad1 will probably go for Ove Nesheim. A decent captain, but misses TT skill to boost him to favourite status. The team is also just short of good, but shows potential. Top9 should be possible, but luck is needed for more.
  
  Universal Soup have a choice. Tieng Dúc Dình is a slightly better pure climber who lacks support skills, whereas Be Dúc Dình lacks DH and HL, but could snatch some time in the TT and hang on for a result. Neither are favourites, but both could perform well with a bit of luck.
  
  Berritxaco will also have a choice. Rodas De La Grosis is a nice rider, but can probably only compete in the YC for now. I wonder what he can be after a few training points and a visit to the TT center! Nicanor Toledano is a bit stronger, but probably too old to go for the top spot. The team is really solid though, and one might wonder what the Spaniards could do here with a top-tier captain.
  
  Stavrosslegend field a true Jack of all trades = master of none-captain in Burgess Swenson. The high AVG strategy might work, but the support at this race is probably not enough to go for broke. He is one of the few captains in TF though! The team does have some nice options to hunt stages, either in breakaways or with specific captains for each stage. Zebediah Pritchett is also an option.
  
  Man 2 Man has another potential captain from the Isle of Man: Abner Carder. The islanders are looking to race in full support of Carder, but with 4 riders with less than 70 CL and no truly high HL or FR stat to help elsewhere they are likely to just fall short here.
  
  A Siberia are another decent GC team that just can’t claim to be 1st or 2d tier. Salem El Kitli has been around for a while and has won his first 2 races last season, so perhaps he’s in the winning mood right now. Solid support and (almost) full staff won’t hurt either.
  
  Glasgow United has several options and all of them are on the older side. Do Nicky Arnott (38) or Donnie Boswell (42) still have what it takes or is it time for relative youngster Walter Charnley (29) to have a go? The oldies are by far the best, but perhaps their skills translate better to teammate duties. A decent dark horse team with full staff, who might have deserved a 2 star spot. I guess they’ll have to prove me wrong.
  
  Halgau are probably the first true stage hunters on the list. Perhaps Marek Wolf can ride a hill stage performance to a GC spot, but the victory on the day is probably the main target for the home team. Joel Hany gives the Swiss potential in the sprint stage as

well.
  
  Brzeszcze are the next stage hunters. Climber Jose Burrieza could be a GC outsider, but instead of support the Colombian only sees TT’ers around him. Solid TT’ers though, whom we’ll probably see on day 1.
  
  Pekarna Grosuplje are probably targeting stages as well, but hill captain Jorg Clep or tt specialist Rico Aguilera could still give it a shot if they take a solid lead in their specialist races. Domingo Velasco is the strongest TT’er in the race (313).
  
  Comanimo has chances in the sprint and hill stages, their main man is most likely Donato Rinnolo. Others are either too specialized or too old (sorry Cees-Jan Boom). They are one of only 3 teams that could actually form some kind of sprint train, so they will provide the early entertainment.
  
  Team DSM have stage hunting options and a long shot GC option in Meine Boom. When targeting stages, Ulysses McLaughlin should also be a man to watch. This team is full of close-to-great-riders however, so don’t be surprised if Wilfried Verbeek ends up being the protected rider after all. Many options don’t make for an easy review…Let’s just say 1 DSM rider will probably do a decent job in the hill stage, but don’t expect any fireworks.
  
  TEAM BOBYN are hunting stages, especially the hill stage, by the looks of it. I’ll put my money on Wilfried Verbeek, but could someone tell Barry he accidentally brought along a single sprinter? Decent mix of hillers and climbers, with Demian Kapriyanov as TT outsider.
  
  StegaUnited is also joining the fun. Remember when I said Comanimo were one of only 3 sprint-capable teams? You’re looking at the second one. Fulvio Scherrer is bound to be their main man, perhaps the captain will allow Dawid Turski to go all-in during the TT.
  
  The Norse Code are a TT-team and could basically take the long flight back home to Greenland after stage 1. Spanish captain Manny Sosa however, is the only rider that can get over a speed bump, so he might persuade his teammates to stick around and throw him a bottle or two during the rest of the race. They start with one injury already, but their best men are still in great condition.
  
  Twente Cycling Team field a team with no more than 37 CL in the ranks, but make up for this with one of the best stage hunting outfits on the signup list. The last of 3 sprint teams should field Ricardo Paula on the flats, and Dominick Dubois in the hills. They have options though. A nice team that should do well in some stages, but will be invisible in the GC, unless Dubois survives the TT and has a miraculous day or 2 in the mountains.
  
  Note from KrMees: Thanks to The Erwinator for skimming through the signup list and pointing out a few riders, thanks to Yuri for posting these and reminding me of the formatting conditions. This was my first ‘real’ preview, so any feedback is appreciated below or in pm’s. Can’t wait to read about all the captains, injuries, top form issues and other decisions I’ve missed ;) Good luck to all teams in Switzerland!