NetApp-Endura will line up a young team with multiple options for this weekend's Brussels Cycling Classic and GP de Fourmies. While Michael Schwarzmann and Ralf Matzka will be ready for a sprint, an in-form Bartosz Huzarski will try to break up the races.

After Daniel Schorn’s good fifth-place finish in Druivenkoers and a racing-free weekend, Team NetApp-Endura's autumn schedule continues Saturday and Sunday with two top-notch one-day races. First, the highest-ranked German cycling team's classics race squad will be competing in the 94th Brussels Cycling Classics. The next day, the GP de Fourmies, also in the UCI Hors category, will be held in northern France. Because several riders are sidelined for health-related reasons, the NetApp-Endura Team will be travelling there with a young but even more motivated squad. Leading the team will be Bartosz Huzarski, who most recently impressed with good performances at the US Pro Challenge, as well as Ralf Matzka and Cesare Benedetti, who also offered strong performances at their last races.

“In the past, Brussels has been decided most often with a bunch sprint. Even though this race traditionally draws elite sprinters, of course we will try to make our best showing there. Our young, up-and-coming sprinters will be looking for an opportunity to show what they’re capable of. Fournies, thanks to its difficult finale, often has split up the peloton, with a smaller group battling it out for the win. We have several options at the race because both a rider like Bartosz as well as our sprinters with a lot of experience at classics races will be able to emerge from groups and make their marks. A Top 10 result there should be a realistic goal,” predicts Sport Director Andre Schulze.

The Brussels Cycling Classics is one of the oldest one-day races. It was held for the first time in 1893, back then under the name of Paris-Bruxelles. This year’s 94th running of the race will kick off in the Belgian capital’s Jubelpark, and 204 kilometers later it will finish in front of the Atomium. The course, with its total of 12 climbs, is definitely demanding. However, the undulating final part also allows for a bunch sprint.

The second stop during NetApp-Endura's racing weekend also boasts a long tradition. The GP de Fourmies is being held for the 81st time, and a preliminary decision will probably be made on one of the short and steep climbs, which are called côtes on the French side of the border. Last year, a big but long-extended peloton sprinted for the win. Team NetApp-Endura is perfectly equipped for both races because the young squad is made up of both sprinters and climbers experienced in classics races.

Line-up:

Cesare Benedetti, Bartosz Huzarski, Ralf Matzka, Erick Rowsell, Andreas Schillinger, Zak Dempster, Michael Schwarzmann, Alexander Krieger