Team News: Scott Thwaites Podium in “Three Days of West Flanders”

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Yorkshire’s Scott Thwaites (Netapp-Endura) sprinted to third place in the first stage of the short Belgian tour “Three Days of West Flanders”.

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Scott Thwaites Podium in “Three Days of West Flanders”

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Scott Thwaites is 3rd (right). Credits: TNE/BettiniPhoto 

In the hectic finale, the 24-year-old Classics specialist from Team NetApp – Endura, only had to concede defeat to Danny van Poppel (Trek) and Danilo Napolitano (Wanty). There were no changes at the top of the general classification. After yesterday’s prologue, Jan Barta is still in ninth place with a 17-second deficit behind the leader Gert Jõeäär (Cofidis).

“Today’s race to the finish line was very technical. The plan for today was actually to prepare the sprint for Blaz. But in the hectic finale our guys lost each other and had to improvise in the final kilometres. Scott managed to get into a good position on the home stretch and sprinted to a third-place finish. This is an excellent result for our Classics team,” Sport Director Christian Pömer said after the race.

“I’m really happy with my 3rd place” added Scott. “I was disappointed with my prologue yesterday and was unsure of my form but today I felt really strong and with the help of the team I was able to position well and take 3rd in the chaotic sprint”talking about his first podium finish of the season.

A five-man breakaway group formed soon after the race got underway in Brugge. The field let the group pull away until the first major challenge of the day, the infamous Oude Kwaremont from the Tour of Flanders.

Not only were the breakaway riders caught on the climb, it also caused the field to disband into several groups. Team NetApp – Endura was almost completely represented in the lead group of around 60 riders and was able to keep all of its options open for the finale. Six strong riders launched a promising attack from this group. Scott Thwaites was one of these escapees, emphasizing his good form. Still, the breakaway attempt was neutralized during the final laps, resulting in a mass sprint.

 

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