Written by Bolt from POM Wonderful.
  
  Welcome All to the 54th edition of the Race of the Minutemen! It’s great to be writing to you all from American Soil! With 24 teams vying for glory, competition will be fierce. This year boasts a strong field and there are only 6 stages to be won and 3 jerseys to be taken home. Home will etch their name in the history books? Let’s take a look at the teams toeing the starting line.
  
  POM Wonderful
  
  Manager Bolt has the team going all in with 4 of his 6 riders peaking in top form for the race including captain Sounthalay Bounirisavone. Bounirisavone was acquired and trained to win this race. POM Wonderful boasts a strong and hungry team looking to win the GC on home turf. This teams weakness, inexperience. The team is quite young and thus will be relying on peaking form and raw talent in this years edition.
  
  Team Expectation: GC and YC victory with Bounirisavone in TF
  
  Belmonte Pro Cycling
  
  AJ Belmonte comes prepared with a rider who is a former white jersey winner and podium finisher at this race, Jan Ramstad. Jan is a tremendous rider on the uneven terrain and has shown success in previous tours. He brings years of experience and is a certain threat to the overall win. Can Ramstad’s climbing prowess and experience overcome a somewhat softer supporting cast?
  
  Team Expectation: Podium finish for Ramstad
  
  ALAITZ ATHLETIC TEAM
  
  Andres Centurian accompanied by a spry young climbing team is looking to add to his success here in America. Centurion has two top 10 finishes in the GC already and is hunting for a podium spot. He is a strong rider with great tour riding abilities, this may be his year to stand on that final podium.
  
  Team Expectation: Podium finish with Centurian
  
  Progress Team
  
  Few riders in this peloton will garner as much attention as Gerald Imiolek. A terrific climber and tour rider who has found his best legs right in time for the race. Manager Szczotek was able to find the best doctor money can buy to help Imiolek find this form. Imiolek won last season on Pikes Peak ITT, can he find similar success on Mt. Washington enroute to an overall victory?
  
  Team Expectation: Win. It. All. with Imiolek in TF
  
  Laguna Beach Cycling
  LAdodger, manager of LBC must sit atop mountain roads and pluck the first guys to the top each morning because this team can climb. 6 strong riders are signed up for the race and stage wins could come from anywhere. LBC could easily come away from this tour with a top 9. The mountains are their playground and this teams here to play.
  
  Team Expectation: Stage wins and top 9 in GC
  
  GUANTEROS
  
  Venjamin Villasenor and Ignacio Guerrero are the two headed monster that manager SERGIO has given the nod to. Villasenor has found top form and is the better climber while Guerrero is the better swiss army knife rider. Both are young and will be aiming for YC success.
  
  Team Expectation: Win YC and finish top 9 GC
  
  Team Orion 365
  
  Two words. Grant Schuyler. A feared and accomplished rider, he can beat you in just about every way on every terrain. Backed by a strong team including super domestique Ulrich Naets, Shuyler is looking to leave America with some hardware. He is a former stage winner here who has finished as high as third on GC. He has previously won the Men Become Gods Tour, Tian Shen Stone City Cup and Odyssey of the Oryx.
  
  Team Expectation: GC win with Shuyler and a top 9 in GC with Naets
  
  Peloton Pushers
  
  7 TIME TDF WINNER LANCE ARM… What’s that? It’s not? Ahem, I’m sorry. Lince Armstrang of England crosses the pond with a potent bunch of punchers and climbers looking to scoop up a fresh stage win wherever they can. Can Peloton Pushers break the tape on a stage in this years edition?
  
  Team Expectation: Stage wins in

the mountains
  
  John Matrix
  
  Flat road and all around enthusiast Baldasarre Commesso arrives on American Soil with a solid supporting cast seeking overall glory. Simply put, manager Arnold says, if we ain’t first, we’re last. Arnold the dropped the mic and walked away.
  
  Team Expectation: GC Victory with Commesso
  
  Musashi
  
  Luigi Sano, hailing from Italy, is well suited for the Race of the Minutemen. Very well suited actually. His chances of winning are bolstered by a potent climbing train that will be setting up his attacks where the air is thin.
  
  Team Expectations: Win a stage and finish on the podium with Sano
  
  FretexHIBAS
  
  Another team who has clearly targeted this race with its riders being in stupendous form is FretexHIBAS. Jone Ringvold is targeting the YC win but frankly is an understated threat in the overall. His downside, inexperience. His strength, youthful reckless abandonment.
  
  Team Expectations: Win YC and finish top 9 in GC with Ringvold.
  
  Spin Doctors
  
  What’s this? A sprint team? Spin Doctors arrives with Kerwin Theford, the speediest rider we’ve discussed thus far. He’s got two flat stages in mind as he looks to dust the GC heavy field. He’s brought a great leadout train and should have good success here.
  
  Team Expectations: Win both sprint stages and take the SC victory.
  
  Ojejku
  
  Manager Borki excitedly joins his first tour on the big stage of the OCM. He’s worked his way up the ranks well and looks to take TT success with Jean Claude Kondeh. We all love a good up and comer and this is a young manager looking to put himself on the map.
  
  Team Expectations: Win the opening TT with Jean Claude Kondeh.
  
  Team Holwerda
  
  Climbers Galore, I mean Team Holwerda, come to this tour with a slew of dangerous climbers. They’ll be looking for success in the high mountains to add to this already loaded climbing field. Prize money will surely be made this week for Team Holwerda.
  
  Team Expectations: Stage wins in the mountains
  
  Stavrosslegend
  
  Kobina Sy has found excellent form leading up to the Race of the Minutemen and will be looking to snowball his recent success. Sy shows some spunk and could show his work against this powerful field. Manager Stephen is excited to see how he can do!
  
  Team Expectations: Top 9 in GC with Sy.
  
  celtas cortos
  
  Manager goyolf has kept his plans for this tour close to the vest. However the start list shows stong climbers will be attending for celtas cortos. Other teams beware, this Spanish team will be launching attacks in the mountains.
  
  Team Expectations: I couldn’t crack goyolf, he won’t tell me!
  
  BCTeam
  
  Italian team led by an Italian rider. Massimo Calderone will be looking to translate his strong tour capabilities into overall success. With a 3rd place finish in Monte Rosa Tour already this season, he’s primed to bring home the win.
  
  Team Expectations: Top 3 GC with Calderone
  
  Biertje
  
  Another secretive team with some potent offense arriving in America. This reporter spies Tiede Veldkamp looking sharp in preparation rides. Can he do some damage and make some waves in the GC?
  
  Team Expectations: Top 9 with Veldkamp
  
  Laders
  
  Laders looks to overcome a recent slump with Grant Whitney and Lode van Leemputen. Grant Whitney is looking to be in good form and could definitely turn this season around for Laders. Let’s hope for the best and bring some good energy for this team to grab some stage wins.
  
  Team Expectations: Top 9 in GC with Grant Whitney or Lode van

Leemputen
  
  A Siberia
  
  Looking for success in a colder climate here is A Siberia. Lead by captain Abdulati Al-Sanousi, they’ve made their expectations clear. Win the race. It certainly looks like a possibility although Al-Sanousi isn’t in top form.
  
  Team Expectations: Win GC with Al-Sanousi
  
  YCO
  
  A short train rider across the border bring YCO and manager BeCool to the red white and blue. Riders familiar with the climate and weather, Ives Tollet looks to take some stage wins where he can. A stong go-er of ups and downs, he should do well here.
  
  Team Expectations: Stage wins in the mountains and top 9 GC with Tollet
  
  Beardy Bikers
  
  Looking for a guy who will constantly be mentioned in conversations about strong climbers? Look no further than Constant Mallet. The flying Frenchman will be looking to attack on the mountain peaks to find success. I’m seeing alot of patterns here. Climbing team looking for climbing success, it’s a broken record! Anywho… go Mallet go!
  
  Team Expectations: Mountain stage win with top 9 GC for Mallet
  
  World Communism Team
  
  WCT comes to America looking for dubloons. Stage win dubloons. Yuri Zuela and Ipyana Rwanda are the methods to accomplishing that. Look for this team to be on the attack early and often in the mountains.
  
  Team Expectation: Mountain stage wins
  
  ElCurioso JuniorCycling
  
  Help mom! I’ve accidentally signed up for an OCM tour! For a team who says they joined this race simply because there was a spot left, they’re bringing a strong team. ECJC will be lead by Dedecker looking for points and prize money.
  
  Team Expectations: Plane fare back home in the form of prize money in the mountains.
  
  
  So we’ve got 1 sprint team, 1 TT team and approximately 328 climbing teams entered in the Race of the Minutemen this year! Got it. This should be a race for the ages. To add to the excitement, the managers of all 24 teams competed in a good ol’ American hotdog eat off once they arrived. 10 minutes to eat as many hotdogs and buns as you can. Here are the results:
  
  1. John Matrix - 22 Hotdogs and all with a smile on his face
  2. POM Wonderful - 18 Hotdogs
  3. World Communism Team - 14 Hotdogs
  4. Musashi - 12 Hotdogs He even added onions!
  5. Progress Team - 10 Hotdogs and used milk instead of water to dip them in.
  6. ElCurioso JuniorCycling - 10 Hotdogs but apparently rider Haldey Roach ate 35 in the audience.
  7. Team Orion 365 - 9 Hotdogs
  8. Beardy Bikers - 8 Hotdogs
  9. Spin Doctors - 8 Hotdogs Could have been more but Joey Chestnut was in the audience and it was distracting him!
  10. ALAITZ ATHLETIC TEAM - 5 Hotdogs
  11. YCO - 3 Hotdogs
  12. GUANTEROS - 2 Hotdogs and laughed the whole time
  13. FretexHIBAS - 2 Hotdogs
  14. Ojejku - 1 Hotdog
  15. Stavrosslegend - 1 Hotdog stopped after that because he had a hot date later on.
  16. BCTeam - 0 Hotdogs but drank alot of Italian wine
  17. Belmonte Pro Cycling - 0 Hotdogs Didn’t like the smell
  18. Laguna Beach Cycling - 0 Hotdogs Didn’t like the taste
  19. Peloton Pushers - 0 Hotdogs Didn’t like the texture
  20. Team Holwerda - 0 Hotdogs Didn’t like the sight
  21. Celtas cortos - 0 Hotdogs Didn’t like the sound???
  22. Biertje - 0 Hotdogs was too busy checking instagram
  23. A Siberia - Doesn’t like the premise of hotdogs (I suspect he owns a dachshund)
  24. Laders - DQ’d 15 Hotdogs were eaten but it was found to be his son in disguise!
  
  Thanks all for the read! My prediction for this loaded field:
  1. Gerald Imiolek - Progress Team
  2. Grant Schuyler - Team Orion 365
  3. Sounthalay Bounirisavone - POM Wonderful