Tour Colombia

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 1 (Team Time Trial)

Start/Finish: Tunja/Tunja, Colombia

Distance: 16.7 kilometers

Note: Team Novo Nordisk started the Tour Colombia with only five riders after losing Andrea Peron to gastrointestinal issues.

Pavel Cherkasov (Sport Director)

The guys raced as a team today. You could tell from the moment that they went down the ramp that they were thinking as a team.

We unexpectedly started as only five riders, which is a hard detail to learn the morning of your first race of the season, especially with losing someone as strong as Andrea.

In the pre-race meeting, we focused on teamwork and managing the headwind that we knew to expect from the start. We broke the course down into segments. Each rider knew what to do and when/where. Everyone performed their jobs exactly as planned, and I’m proud of how we raced today.

David Lozano (ESP)

There was great teamwork out there and I was glad about how we did. I positioned myself between our two neo-pros, Oliver and Ulugbek, and we were able to communicate well and race together while out on the road.

Ulugbek Saidov (UZB)

This was my first team time trial at this level and with Team Novo Nordisk’s men’s pro team. There were definitely nerves at the beginning, but that is true for every bike race. I was proud of how we did out there—it really felt like we rode together as a group.

Stage 1 Results:

1st – EF PRO Cycling – 0:18:01

2nd – Deceuninck Quick Step

3rd – Team INEOS

26th – Team Novo Nordisk

Next Up:

On Wednesday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 2 at the Tour Colombia with a 152.4 km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Duitama (home to the 1995 World Championships).

(Photos: ©Bettiniphotos)

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 1 (Team Time Trial)

Start/Finish: Tunja/Tunja, Colombia

Distance: 16.7 kilometers

Note: Team Novo Nordisk started the Tour Colombia with only five riders after losing Andrea Peron to gastrointestinal issues.

Pavel Cherkasov (Sport Director)

The guys raced as a team today. You could tell from the moment that they went down the ramp that they were thinking as a team.

We unexpectedly started as only five riders, which is a hard detail to learn the morning of your first race of the season, especially with losing someone as strong as Andrea.

In the pre-race meeting, we focused on teamwork and managing the headwind that we knew to expect from the start. We broke the course down into segments. Each rider knew what to do and when/where. Everyone performed their jobs exactly as planned, and I’m proud of how we raced today.

David Lozano (ESP)

There was great teamwork out there and I was glad about how we did. I positioned myself between our two neo-pros, Oliver and Ulugbek, and we were able to communicate well and race together while out on the road.

Ulugbek Saidov (UZB)

This was my first team time trial at this level and with Team Novo Nordisk’s men’s pro team. There were definitely nerves at the beginning, but that is true for every bike race. I was proud of how we did out there—it really felt like we rode together as a group.

Stage 1 Results:

1st – EF PRO Cycling – 0:18:01

2nd – Deceuninck Quick Step

3rd – Team INEOS

26th – Team Novo Nordisk

Next Up:

On Wednesday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 2 at the Tour Colombia with a 152.4 km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Duitama (home to the 1995 World Championships).

(Photos: ©Bettiniphotos)

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 2

Start/Finish: Paipa/Duitama, Colombia

Distance: 152.4 kilometers

Joonas Henttala (FIN)

At the start of today, I had to find my feeling for riding back in the bunch again after the off-season. I think this is true for everyone in the peloton. Mix that with the wind and a big breakaway group and it makes for a very nervous stage. By the last hour, I definitely felt more confident in my legs, my head, and my position in the bunch.

The final 20 kilometers were okay; it wasn’t until the last five kilometers that the pace really ramped up for the finish. We definitely missed Andrea out there today with it being a sprint finish, so we were limited on what impact we could have on the day.

Next Up:

On Thursday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 3 at the Tour Colombia with a 177.7-km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Sogamoso.

Gallery:

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 2

Start/Finish: Paipa/Duitama, Colombia

Distance: 152.4 kilometers

Joonas Henttala (FIN)

At the start of today, I had to find my feeling for riding back in the bunch again after the off-season. I think this is true for everyone in the peloton. Mix that with the wind and a big breakaway group and it makes for a very nervous stage. By the last hour, I definitely felt more confident in my legs, my head, and my position in the bunch.

The final 20 kilometers were okay; it wasn’t until the last five kilometers that the pace really ramped up for the finish. We definitely missed Andrea out there today with it being a sprint finish, so we were limited on what impact we could have on the day.

Next Up:

On Thursday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 3 at the Tour Colombia with a 177.7-km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Sogamoso.

Gallery:

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 3

Start/Finish: Paipa/Sogamosa, Colombia

Distance: 177.7 kilometers

Oliver Behringer (SUI)

It’s immediately clear the benefit the local Colombians have for living at this altitude. To them, today felt like a normal ride. For us, we immediately feel how high we are when we try to put in an effort. We’ve been here a little over a week, and it takes several weeks for the body to truly adjust. We know that if we go too deep on a single stage, it will significantly impact recovery, so it is all about managing ourselves while our bodies continue to adjust.

Pavel Cherkasov – Sport Director

Today was incredibly hard immediately from the start. It began full gas and groups started to form fairly quickly. Halfway through the day, the peloton was splintered with a few small groups chasing with our riders behind the main bunch.

It is apparent that we are still adjusting back to racing and it is early season. You can tell the altitude still has an impact and it was a challenging day out on the bike.

Next Up:

On Friday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 4 at the Tour Colombia with a 169-km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Santa Rosa de Viterbo.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 4

Start/Finish: Paipa/Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Colombia

Distance: 169 kilometers

Sam Brand (GBR—Isle of Man)

Today’s parcours was similar to yesterday, but the race was much different. The day started in a much more relaxed way compared to Stage 3 with the first attack at Kilometer Zero resulting in the day’s main breakaway.

Throughout the day, the pace of the group remained fairly steady over the climbs and the flat.

It wasn’t until the final climb up heading into the finish in Santa Rosa de Viterbo that the stage really exploded. You could feel the crescendo building up towards the final kilometers. Once we reached the climb, I focused on riding my pace to the finish.

Next Up:

On Saturday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 5 at the Tour Colombia with a 180.5-km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Zipaquira.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 4

Start/Finish: Paipa/Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Colombia

Distance: 169 kilometers

Sam Brand (GBR—Isle of Man)

Today’s parcours was similar to yesterday, but the race was much different. The day started in a much more relaxed way compared to Stage 3 with the first attack at Kilometer Zero resulting in the day’s main breakaway.

Throughout the day, the pace of the group remained fairly steady over the climbs and the flat.

It wasn’t until the final climb up heading into the finish in Santa Rosa de Viterbo that the stage really exploded. You could feel the crescendo building up towards the final kilometers. Once we reached the climb, I focused on riding my pace to the finish.

Next Up:

On Saturday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 5 at the Tour Colombia with a 180.5-km race that starts in Paipa and finishes in Zipaquira.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 5

Start/Finish: Paipa/Zipaquira, Colombia

Distance: 180.5 kilometers

Joonas Henttala (FIN)

No other way to put it—today was quite relentless.

In the first hour, there were non-stop attacks. I think the big teams really wanted to be in the breakaway, so that made it hard for the first 90 minutes or so.

Then it never got really easy today. You could feel the pressure on the pedals the whole day. I think the wind made everyone a little extra nervous.

When we were riding up the climbs, we weren’t going full gas, but I would describe it as annoyingly hard. Once we got down from the last climb, we were hit by crosswinds all the way to the finish. This made the lead into Zipaquira sheer chaos in the bunch.

Tomorrow is the last stage and hopefully this is preparing us for a strong race in Rwanda next week.

Next Up:

On Sunday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will conclude the Tour Colombia with Stage 6 with a 182.6-km race that starts in Zipaquira and finishes on the decisive El Once Verjon.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 5

Start/Finish: Paipa/Zipaquira, Colombia

Distance: 180.5 kilometers

Joonas Henttala (FIN)

No other way to put it—today was quite relentless.

In the first hour, there were non-stop attacks. I think the big teams really wanted to be in the breakaway, so that made it hard for the first 90 minutes or so.

Then it never got really easy today. You could feel the pressure on the pedals the whole day. I think the wind made everyone a little extra nervous.

When we were riding up the climbs, we weren’t going full gas, but I would describe it as annoyingly hard. Once we got down from the last climb, we were hit by crosswinds all the way to the finish. This made the lead into Zipaquira sheer chaos in the bunch.

Tomorrow is the last stage and hopefully this is preparing us for a strong race in Rwanda next week.

Next Up:

On Sunday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will conclude the Tour Colombia with Stage 6 with a 182.6-km race that starts in Zipaquira and finishes on the decisive El Once Verjon.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 6

Start/Finish: Zipaquira /El Once Verjon, Colombia

Distance: 182.6 kilometers

Oliver Behringer (SUI) (neo-pro)

I’m happy to have my first race of the season completed. The start to every season is always challenging and a shock to the system. Mix in the altitude and world-class field at the Tour Colombia, and this race was a real sufferfest.

We knew today would be hard and that it was going to split the peloton at some point. While we felt the altitude the previous days, it was really the key factor today. We went over 3,000 meters twice, which meant I was suffering a lot.

We anticipated the split on the penultimate climb, so there were many groups out on the road. Each of us found a bunch to ride in together to the finish.

I really want to thank my teammates who supported me throughout each stage whenever they could. Having them around me definitely made the suffering a little easier. Now we focus on recovery and start traveling to Rwanda.

Next Up:

Next up, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will take on the Tour du Rwanda, Africa’s premier stage race. It kicks off on February 23^rd with a 114.4-km stage that starts and finishes in Kigali.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos

Race: Tour Colombia – Stage 6

Start/Finish: Zipaquira /El Once Verjon, Colombia

Distance: 182.6 kilometers

Oliver Behringer (SUI) (neo-pro)

I’m happy to have my first race of the season completed. The start to every season is always challenging and a shock to the system. Mix in the altitude and world-class field at the Tour Colombia, and this race was a real sufferfest.

We knew today would be hard and that it was going to split the peloton at some point. While we felt the altitude the previous days, it was really the key factor today. We went over 3,000 meters twice, which meant I was suffering a lot.

We anticipated the split on the penultimate climb, so there were many groups out on the road. Each of us found a bunch to ride in together to the finish.

I really want to thank my teammates who supported me throughout each stage whenever they could. Having them around me definitely made the suffering a little easier. Now we focus on recovery and start traveling to Rwanda.

Next Up:

Next up, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will take on the Tour du Rwanda, Africa’s premier stage race. It kicks off on February 23^rd with a 114.4-km stage that starts and finishes in Kigali.

Photos: ©BettiniPhotos