Giacomo Nizzolo was one of the big favourites to win the GP de Fourmies. However, a crash by his lead-out man Danilo Hondo held him up and even though he rejoined the peloton, he had nothing left for the sprint.

Immediately following the Brussels Classic the 205-kilometer Grand Prix de Fourmies in Northern France was another test for sprinters. Trek Factory Racing continued where they ended yesterday, extending superb teamwork in support of Giacomo Nizzolo for the second straight day.

Everything was playing out nicely in the final part of the race: the day’s four-man break had been absorbed, and another 15 riders had moved clear with Calvin Watson and Danny van Poppel – a good situation for Trek Factory Racing. They gained 25 seconds before the peloton eradicated the gap and the race headed towards a bunch sprint as expected.

Then with less than 12 kilometers to go a crash marred Trek Factory Racing’s chances. Danilo Hondo, Nizzolo's key lead out man, went down, injuring his wrist, and Nizzolo was delayed behind the melee resulting in a furious chase to return to the front positions and back into contention.

Although Nizzolo made it, and the team immediately amassed at the front with three kilometers remaining to catch back a few opportunists hoping to steal a victory, when the sprint fired he sputtered. The chase had zapped his legs and 12th was the best they could offer.

“Danilo crashed," sports director Dirk Demol said. "It happened with about 11 kilometers to go and it was in the front - in the first 20 positions - and Giacomo was caught behind it. It was a huge effort for him to come from behind and at the end he had no power left. It’s a pity again we have no result because the team was very good for the second straight day.”

The sprint was won by Jonas Van Genechten (Lotto Belisol) ahead of Tom Van Asbroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen) and Elia Viviani (Cannondale).

Danilo Hondo did not finish the race after his crash, and was taken to the hospital for examination.

“We are not sure about Dinailo’s wrist and he will go to the hospital to have it x-rayed," Demol said. "This is a part of racing, and although we do not have the result that we could have had, the team proved again today the condition is good. When the crash happened everything was disorganized, but we pulled together and came back in time for the finale. Now we look forward – I think we are looking very good for the next races.”