After his excellent third place at the Criterium International, Thiago Machado will be chasing more success when he lines up at the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe as one of two NetApp-Endura leaders. Having finished 2nd in the 2010 edition of the race, the Portuguese hopes to improve on that performance as part of a team that also includes the in-form Pole Bartosz Huzarski.

Led by Bartosz Huzarski and Tiago Machado, who most recently came in third in the Critérium International, Team NetApp-Endura will be starting in the French tour known as the “Circuit Cycliste Sarthe – Pays de la Loire”, which begins this coming Tuesday. The 62nd edition of this 5-stage race begins in the Pays de la Loire region in western France and ends 673 kilometers farther to the east in the department of Sarthe. Team NetApp-Endura will be competing in this tour for the second time. The team debuted last year with Jan Barta finishing second in the general classification.

“Both Bartosz and Tiago are currently in excellent form, which means that we will have two options going into the race. After the individual time trial, we will see who will take over as captain for the remaining stages. Although we also have young riders like Johnny McEvoy and Michael Schwarzmann for the sprint stages, we will be focusing on the general classification. Generally only six riders per team compete in this tour. While that makes this race interesting, it also makes it difficult to control the stages. Nevertheless, we are confident that we can get a good result,” says Alex Sans Vega, looking ahead to the race.

The first stage begins in the beach town of Saint-Jean-de-Monts on the Atlantic coast and ends in Saint Géréon. The 197-km stage only has a few brief climbs in the middle of the race, which should be a good opportunity for sprinters. The second day is divided into two parts. In the morning there will be a short, flat stage between Ancenis and Angers. A 6.8-km time trial will then be held in Angers in the afternoon. Cyclists should expect a selective final stretch in the fourth stage. After getting off to a flat start, the profile will become hillier and more demanding as the stage goes on. At the end of the 196.2-km route, the cyclists must conquer the Mont des Avaloirs six times. The final stage on Sunday will be even more difficult. While the race gets off to a flat start, the short, the steep Côte du Tertre has to be crossed seven times.

NetApp-Endura for the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe:

Thiago Machado, Bartosz Huzarski, Jonathan McEvoy, Michael Schwarzmann, Kilian Padour, Erick Rowsell