Six New Riders Added to Team Novo Nordisk Roster for 5th Season

17 November 2016

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team, will race its fifth season with an expanded roster of 19 athletes from eight countries. Six new riders, including stagiaires Quentin Valognes (FRA) and Rik van IJzendoorn (NED), both who raced with the men’s professional team since August, are part of Team Novo Nordisk’s 2017 roster.

“Team Novo Nordisk is ready to take on its fifth season with our largest squad to date. We’re all excited to see what these talented athletes, especially the five riders coming up from our development squad, can accomplish in 2017,” Team Novo Nordisk CEO and co-founder Phil Southerland said. “In 2016, we earned more top five results than any season, and we are eager to keep building on these results to inspire, educate and empower everyone around the world affected by diabetes.”

In order to become a member of Team Novo Nordisk, all athletes must have type 1 diabetes. Since its launch in December 2012, the organization has focused heavily on identifying and developing endurance athletes from around the world with diabetes, building junior and development squads currently totaling 30 athletes.

Five of Team Novo Nordisk’s six new athletes are products of its development program. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Reid McClure (CAN), Umberto Poli (ITA), Valognes and van IJzendoorn all spent at least one season racing on the development squad; Valognes has been with Team Novo Nordisk since its inception in 2013.

Newcomer Romain Gioux (FRA) approached the team after racing as an amateur for French team’s Cycliste de Varennes-Vauzelles and Vélo Sport Chartrain. In late 2016, Gioux was asked to race with the team’s development squad at the East Bohémia Tour. His performance there earned him a contract for the 2017 season.

“We have spent four years nurturing our development program and it is rewarding to move five devo riders up to our pro squad. Each of these riders adds depth to our team, and we are excited to witness their years with our development team turn into results within the pro ranks,” Team Novo Nordisk Senior Vice President of Athletics Vassili Davidenko said. “We strengthened our men’s pro team with these new riders and added new staff. We believe these changes will lead to more results.”

This season, the Team Novo Nordisk men’s professional squad competed in its first World Tour stage race, Tour de Pologne. Across 43 races in 23 countries, Team Novo Nordisk earned its best overall result to date when Javier Megias (ESP) finished second overall at the Tour of Korea. The Spaniard went on to earn the team its best finish at a UCI 2.HC race when he took 14^th overall at the Tour of California. Other highlights of the season include Martijn Verschoor (NED) sprinting to fifth on Stage 1 of the Tour of California and the team winning its first team classification at the Tour of Estonia. As of November 16, 2016, the team has amassed a total of nine top five finishes, the most in its four-year history.

Fabio Calabria (AUS)

1^st, Alabama State Road Race Championship
3^rd, Mt. Victory Road Race

Reid McClure (CAN)

1^st, Tennessee State Road Race Championship
2^nd, Georgia Cycling Gran Prix, Stage 4
2^nd, Foothills Cup Road Race

Umberto Poli (ITA)

1st, Georgia Cycling Grand Prix, Stage 2
1^st, Georgia Cycling Grand Prix, Stage 6
2^nd, Mt. Victory Road Race
2^nd, Belgian Kermesse

Quentin Valognes (FRA)

9^th, Tour of Yancheng Coastal Wetlands **as stagiaire with men’s professional team
1^st, Tour de l’Abitibi Desjardins, Stage 5 (2014)
1^st, Tour de l’Abitibi Desjardins, Stage 6 (2014)
3^rd, French National Keirin Championship (2014)