Team NetApp-Endura had a tough day in today's windy Handzame Classic. With sprinter Scott Thwaites being on a bad day and a crash taking out Jan Barta and Daniel Schorn, the team was left to make the best of the situation and ended up taking 12th with Michael Schwarzmann.

The 12th edition of the Handzame Classic, a 198-km race from Bredene to Handzame, ended today in a large group sprint. After a hectic race marked by countless attacks, Luka Mezgec (Giant-Shimano) of Slovenia prevailed ahead of Theo Bos (Belkin) and Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise). Michael Schwarzmann was Team NetApp-Endura’s best rider, sprinting to 12th place.

The 12th edition of the Handzame Classic got underway in the Belgian municipality of Bredene along the North Sea this afternoon. While the race followed the coastline for long stretches, there were also several climbs along the way such as the Vidaigneberg, Scherpenberg and Baneberg. The cobblestone Steenstraat also had to be mastered three times. After 198.3 kilometers, the cyclists finally reached the finish line in Handzame.

Today’s race was characterized by numerous attacks, hectic riding and crashes as cyclists tried their best to compete in bad weather with gusts of wind up to 60 km/h. In the early part of the race, advances by smaller groups dominated the race. As the race went on at a fast pace, the field split up into three to four large groups several times. The last of these lead groups was caught just ten kilometers before the finish line and a field of around 90 cyclists headed into a sprint finish.

“As is the case in so many Belgian races, it was a very fast, offensive race with lots of attacks," sports director Andre Schulze said. "Unfortunately we lost Scott [Thwaites] and Frantisek [Padour] right at the start. Scott didn’t feel well, was too far behind and couldn’t keep up with the pace. This meant that our sprinter was out of commission.

"After the crosswind situation, five of our guys were represented in a group of 90 riders. But things got very hectic again and there was a big crash in which two of our guys went down. Daniel [Schorn] and Jan [Barta] fell into a ditch with some other cyclists and were unable to rejoin the field after that.

"That’s when Johnny [McEvoy], Ralf [Matzka] and Michael tried to get in the best possible position for the final stretch, but then had to do without Johnny since he was also having a tough time. Michael ended up sprinting from too far behind, but still managed to finish 12th, which is a good result given the conditions.

"Nevertheless, it was a good race for Ralf and Michael since they made the best of a difficult situation. We certainly could have done better if we had had five of our guys in the final stretch."

Next week part of Team NetApp-Endura will be in Belgium for another race. On Wednesday, the Dwars door Vlaanderen will serve as a dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders, which takes place a week later. Next Sunday the team will be at Gent-Wevelgem for another WorldTour event.