Team NetApp-Endura will line up at their first Tour of Denmark which starts on Wednesday. For the mostly flat race, the team will be led by its classics riders and will ride in support of in-form sprinter Daniel Schorn.

After a successful July, which not only brought Team NetApp-Endura a seventh place finish in the Tour de France, but also an outstanding fifth place overall, not to mention victory in the team classification at the Tour of Qinghai Lake, the top-ranked German squad will make its debut at the Tour of Denmark this Wednesday.

The 24th Post Danmark Rundt will begin in Hobro and will end 815 kilometers later in Copenhagen’s Frederiksberg district. The flat but wind-prone course should suit Team NetApp-Endura’s classic specialists in particular. They will be supporting Daniel Schorn, who most recently demonstrated his good form by claiming some top spots in China.

“The Tour of Denmark will be a premiere for everyone on the team, which means we’ll have to face it without the benefit of having any experience there," Sport Director Andre Schulze said. "We’ve prepared ourselves for conditions normally found at classic races: primarily flat, some steep climbs and a lot of wind. We’re expecting sprints from larger groups. With Daniel, we’re well prepared for that in particular. In China he demonstrated that he’s in top form.

"Cesare, Frantisek and Erick have also delivered convincing performances lately. In terms of our young sprinters, Michael and Ralf, I expect that they have recovered well after their illness in China. Andreas just completed his first Tour de France and should arrive in Denmark in good shape. Of course, we hope to clench a top stage result with this squad."

Unfortunately, Blaz Jarc had to be dropped from the line-up at short notice. The rider from Slovenia will not be able to compete due to suffering a painful injury to his shoulder in a fairly serious crash during training on Saturday.

The 24th Tour of Denmark will kick off in Hobro with a 155-kilometer stage in the northernmost part of the country. En route to Mariager, the riders will have to complete two sprint classifications and five mountain classifications. The longest stage of the tour will come on the second day. It will begin in Skive am Limfjord and end 195 kilometers later in Aarhus on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

A cobblestone section and a climb with as much as a 21% gradient just 18 kilometers before the finish line could have a decisive impact on the third stage. The fourth day will be divided into two parts. While a 14.8-kilometer time trial in the afternoon will be crucial in terms of the outcome of the tour, the morning agenda calls for a short 100-kilometer stage. The final stage will take the riders 175 kilometers from Kalundborg to Frederiksberg, a district in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

Line-up:

Cesare Benedetti, Ralf Matzka, Frantisek Padour, Erick Rowsell, Andreas Schillinger, Daniel Schorn, Michael Schwarzmann