24-year-old sprinter Michael Schwarzmann has proven his talent in the fourth stage of the Ster ZLM Toer. After 187 kilometers and 3,000 meters of altitude, he scored a great fifth place in the most difficult finale and he only barely missed a podium spot.

With his result, Schwarzmann made a jump in the GC, where he is now ranked on 11th place. Teammate Zak Dempster follows right behind in 12th. The day was initially animated by Scott Thwaites in a lead group of six riders. The escapees were able to lead by up to 6:30 minutes before the peloton neutralized the attacks on the final lap.

"First, Scott is rode a very strong race in the breakaway and as one of the few riders he was able to stay ahead till the last lap. Unfortunately, there were a lot of interests in the field to catch the group. The boys are in very good shape and delivered a good team performance once again today. We wanted to focus on Michael in the difficult finale. He has a great form and he likes this kind of finish. It was first 800m steep uphill before the last 700 meters were slightly uphill till the line.

“The facts that we had 3,000 meters of climbing and that the field has been torn apart in the finale just shows how hard the stage was. With his fifth place, Michael proved that he can do it and he has made a great step in his development. Ultimately, he lacked only 20 centimeters to be on the podium. Hats off, as he did so well at this high level of racing and in this challenging finish", Sport Director Andre Schulze praised the 24-year-old German sprinter.