OCM In Focus
  
  Season 13 seems to have flown by but our second batch of Young Guns have notched up some impressive results. This time a season ago, seven young, lucky riders were given the title ‘Young Gun’ and also given the pressure that such a title comes with. Five have been deemed a success while the other two haven’t quite lived up to our expectations. So who will be crowned ‘Young Gun of the Year’?
  
  The Successes
  
  1. Susumu Miyazki – 24 – Hommerts Cycling Team – All-round Sprinter
  
  13 results, 2nd at the Volta, 4th in Perm, 7th in Essex, Volta YC winner. It is an impressive list for a rider so young, but such results have propelled Susu up to 5th in the OCM rider rankings and have made the Japanese rider a household name both at home and across the OCM world. Susu is also in the running for three awards for Season 13 – Best Young Rider, Best Breakthrough rider and Best Tour rider. However, surely his prize as ‘Young Gun of the Year’ will be the one he coveted the most.
  
  2. Tshepo Sokopo – 26 – Team E - Climber
  
  Sokopo and Team E are well-acquainted with the carnage of Division 7. After briefly spending time in Division 5, most of Sokopo’s success has come in Division 7. Six wins and a second place is a very good return for the rider from Lesotho and he has been the team’s main weapon in escaping from the carnage. Team E are now at the top of OCM’s most competitive division and Sokopo will have to be at his best next season if the team are to escape once

and for all.
  
  3. Fenton Sommers – 25 – Dodge – Time Trialler
  
  With 696 points, Sommers’ season may not look great. However, the young Australian has picked up three wins, including the Essex Tour Time Trial, and two days ago finished 2nd in the World Championships Time Trial in his home country. Sommers certainly wasn’t fazed in his initiation into OCM and looks to have enough class to compete at the top for the foreseeable future. His rather meagre points total is a clear indication of how Time Triallers struggle in OCM.
  
  4. Truman Vancil – 26 – Equipo Easy On - Puncheur
  
  At the start of the Season, it was a close call between Truman Vancil and Urbano Menem (Team Whalers) for the puncheur Young Gun. After a season, it is still difficult to separate the two in terms of wins, results and OCM points. However, this article is not about Vancil vs Menem, it is Vancil vs the other riders of Young Guns II. With 1000 points in his first season Vancil can be proud and we can expect to see this figure rise as the Saint Lucian has been steadily improving all season.
  
  5. Curtis Defore – 23 – Scilian - Cobbler
  
  A steady but unspectacular maiden season for the Belgian cobbler saw him score a decent 740 points. The undisputed highlight of his season was the win at the Roma CB, where he overcame more established competition. An injury prevented his participation in the Tweedaagse van Antwerpen but his superior time

trialling skills will surely make him one of the favourites for next season’s Tour. One to keep an eye on.
  
  The Also-rans
  
   Karl Aerts – 25 – WTC Stoffer - Sprinter
  
  After a sensational Season 12 in which the Belgium amassed 10 results, including 6 wins, Aerts has had a thoroughly disappointing Season 13. Season 12 pushed his team up from Division 7 to Division 3 and after a brief flirtation with the Volta in Division 2, the rider and his team have fallen away. Rumours that his team WTC Stoffer have lost their team sponsors will have inevitably decreased team morale and it will be important for this issue to be addressed if Aerts is to live up to his potential.
  
   Toby Caraway – 25 – Ursus RT - Climber
  
  There were high hopes that Toby Caraway would be one of the new stars of OCM but, so far, he has not lived up to his billing. One solitary podium, albeit at the Alpe D’Huez Classic, and 160 points is all that the rider from Trinidad & Tobago can show for the season. However, Caraway had a lot of pressure to shoulder. He spent a lot of his races supporting team captain, Nico Holt, which left him precious few opportunities to lead the team. It may have been a disappointment but we certainly haven’t seen the best of Caraway and I certainly expect him to shine in the future.
  
  The ones we missed
  
  Lance Le Noir (spartak)
  Salim Wajeeh (Equipe 44)
  Urbano Menem (Team Whalers)
  Roderick Soule (Zoncalan)