(written by Anthony of HC Alpine)
  
  There is no arguing the absolute chaos of Division 7, with over 1000 teams racing for victory and with some days on the calendar including up to 15 races. The carnage is absolute in every race and the smartest managers and their riders are normally the winners; but don’t leave lady luck out of the equation either. She will bite, though sometimes in a good way.
  
  There are no tours in Division 7, although I am sure everybody would love to see some. However there are the Classics, and to most managers these are the most important races. If you are on the incline, you know you won’t be in Division 7 forever and therefore there is no better way to leave your mark then in having your riders name and country inscribed in these races’ history forever.
  
  There are five races in the Classics category - Entrecasteaux GP, Draguignan - Gorges du Verdon, Gevelsberg GP, Zell am See and Giro di Vicenza. The two French races were won by Ronald Husák (Jabandija) and Eliazar Idalia (Independencia). These seemed to have been great warm ups for what was to come - the three hardest

classics running on three consecutive days, This is not normally the case and created some panic amongst some managers. The biggest question was, who was ready for the races?
  
  Rob Roesemes dominant
  
  Rob Roesemes (nrk), who clearly has the class to be in at least Division 4, won the Gevelsberg GP with ease. In 2nd place was Ludo Jacques (bokkerijders) and in 3rd came Napoleão Grilo (teamsi). Coming in positions 1st and 2nd, the Belgiums seem to have won the day in Germany. The following day was Austria’s Zell am See, arguably the toughest classic in Division 7, with a killer combination of climbs and descents. The Canadian teams definitely showed up for this race placing Washington Reckinger, (Toronto Dragons) in 2nd and Damon Maze (Canuck Racing) in 3rd, with two more riders in the top 15. However, once again Rob Roesemes (nrk) took the victory as well as a 4th and 6th place with his teammates.
  
  The third Classic was Italy’s Giro di Vicenza, in what was yet another mountain top finish. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the race did not include nrk. They are most probably the first team to

win two back to back Classics in Division 7, but would definitely have been the first to win three. Ulises Figueira (lukeflanders team) took the victory with a well rounded team effort; close behind was Jannic De Roeck (Sois) and Sam Stark (Divac).
  
  The Classics have now all be completed - in the first half of the season. This is unusual but provided a great profitable boost to those who were ready; will the timing be the same for next season? One thing is for sure, it certainly provides an exciting few days for spectators.
  
  Runde om Vejle – A Hidden Classic?
  
  Who knows if it’s intentional or not, but Runde om Vejle is probably the biggest and most underrated race in Division 7 history. The winner receives 100 points and $14 000, compared to the Division norm of 30 and $8,000. The winner of the hilly race, with a wall of a finishing climb, was Herberto Carrera, whose team Durazno Sprinter jumped up to Division 5 with the win; in 2nd came Karol Tomaszewski (superstars) and in 3rd came Simon Orford (HC Alpine). The points advantage paid off with all three teams promoting out of the carnage.