It feels so good to be back in a WorldTour race and going straight into the breakaway. It’s one of those things, you can overthink it and then it becomes quite stressful and sometimes you don’t make it, but today I attacked early and the move went away.

That was the main goal for today – get in the break, so as soon as the group settled down myself and the other three guys went pretty hard and we rode well together. The Polish guys in the group wanted to show themselves and that contributed to making the move stick.

I was focused on trying to take some points in the KOM’s, but it was a super hard and long day out and by the time we hit the closing circuits the pace was really high. We got caught on the last lap, but I’m happy and I’ll go to bed with a smile on my face tonight, wake up in the morning, take a look at the map for tomorrow’s stage and take it from there.

Massimo Podenzana, DS

We wanted to get someone in the break today, that was the objective, to be aggressive from the start and show ourselves against the WorldTour teams and Sam did a great job to make the early breakaway.

He attacked early, almost straight out of the neutral zone and when the other guys followed him, they immediately started to work well together. They were out there for most of the stage, so it was a really positive start for us.

All our guys came through the stage in good condition. Andrea Peron had a little bit of cramp before the finish, but he’s ok and both Charles Planet and Peter Kusztor were in good shape towards the front of the bunch. We achieved our goals today and we have four more stages and four more opportunities here in Poland.

Next Up:

Tomorrow the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 2 at the Tour of Poland with a 151.5-kilometer race that starts in Opole and finishes in Zabrze.

Photo Credit: Tour de Pologne

#TourDePologne #TdP20 #ChangingDiabetes

Stage 2

Video

Another fast finish in Poland sees Peron sprinting into the top 20

Race: TDP Stage 2

Date: 6th August 2020

Start/Finish: Opole – Zabrze

Distance: 151.5 kilometers

Andrea Peron (ITA)

It was quite a strange stage really, because the break went really early and after the crash at the finish on stage one, the atmosphere in the bunch was strange and it all led into another really fast finish.

I felt pretty good considering that this is only my second race in the last ten months, but I am definitely missing some of the top end that comes with the rhythm of racing. We knew the final would be fast, but it was also very hectic and the last lap felt like warp speed.

Overall, I am pleased with how it went today, but last year I was sprinting in the top ten and this time I was further back and when you’re racing against the best guys in the world you always want to show what you can do.

Massimo Podenzana, DS

Going into the stage we had looked at today as another opportunity to get in the breakaway, but the move went very early with only two guys and due to our positioning, we missed the chance.

It settled down very quickly and after the move went up the road the big teams were all set on letting things play out for what we expected would be a very fast sprint finish, and that’s exactly how things unfolded.

There were three short closing circuits around Zabrze and as soon as we hit them the pace ramped up dramatically, the leading pair were swallowed up and everyone started to jostle for position for the sprint. Andrea did really well, he hasn’t had much racing in his legs this year – even before lockdown, and he held his own to place 16th.

Tomorrow could be more interesting for us, it will be a tough stage, we know the terrain from last year and as always we will ride together as a team and try to take the opportunity.

Next Up:

Tomorrow the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 3 at the Tour of Poland with a 203.1-kilometer race that starts in Wadowice and finishes in Bielsko-Biala.

Photo Credit: Tour de Pologne

Stage 3

Hot and heavy day in the saddle on stage three of the Tour de Pologne

Race: TDP Stage 3

Date: 7th August 2020

Start/Finish: Wadowice – Bielsko-Bala, Slaskie

Distance: 203.1 km

Charles Planet (FRA)

Man. It was a really tough day in the saddle today, it was very hot and it’s fair to say that’s not my favourite kind of condition for 200 kilometers of WorldTour racing with seven categorised climbs, but I gave my best.

I made it over the climbs and managed to stay with the leading group as it reduced until the last circuit and then I slipped back and had to fight hard to keep my pace. I felt dehydrated on the last lap and that didn’t help.

Even though it was a difficult day, my legs felt pretty good and we look ahead to tomorrow and Sunday now.

Massimo Podenzana, DS

It was a hard day today, there’s no doubt about it. The heat, the climbs, the speed, the distance of the stage, it all takes it out of you. Our guys suffer more in these kind of conditions and have to be more careful, more attentive.

They worked hard as always and even though we didn’t get what we wanted out of the stage you have to give them credit because they kept fighting until the very end. Now we have to recover for tomorrow, because it will be another very tough day, maybe even harder than today.

If we can come through tomorrow ok, we have another opportunity on Sunday’s final stage to get out front and show the jersey.

Next Up:

Tomorrow the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 4 at the Tour of Poland with a 152.9-kilometer race that starts in Bukovina Resort and finishes in Bukovina Tatranska.

Photo Credit: Rene’ Vigneron

Stage 4

Video

Kusztor shows experience counts on brutal fourth stage in Poland

Race: TDP Stage 4

Date: 8th August 2020

Start/Finish: Bukovia Resort – Bukowina Tatrzanska

Distance: 152.9 km

Peter Kusztor (HUN)

Today was the Queen Stage here at the Tour de Pologne and it was a very hard stage with many difficult climbs. We had our tasks for the day and managed to follow them pretty well.

Over the first climb the bunch went quite easy and I felt surprisingly good after yesterday, but on the second climb the pace really increased, and I struggled to stay with the front group, so I dropped back and rode my own tempo and kept going with the middle group.

I’m a little bit disappointed because I was quite optimistic for this stage and I did feel really good at the start and it would have been nice to finish a little further up and try to stay with the front group for longer, but we also need to save something for tomorrow’s final stage.

Massimo Podenzana, DS

I am really pleased with all our guys today, the only objective for us today was to come through stage without any problems and to have everyone come over the line in good shape made me happy.

It was another hot day and another day of suffering and as I said yesterday, I can’t emphasize enough how much racing in this heat and up gradients of 20% takes it out of our guys, but they didn’t let it phase them and pushed right until the last meter.

We wanted to get through today, so Sunday’s final stage is something we can enjoy and also an opportunity for us to try and get out there in the breakaway again and show the Team Novo Nordisk jersey that we are proud to wear every day.

Next Up:

Tomorrow the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on the final Stage at the Tour of Poland with a 188-kilometer race that starts in Zakopane and finishes in Krakow.

Photo Credit: Rene’ Vigneron

Stage 5

Video

Top 20 for Planet on the final stage in Tour du Pologne

Race: TDP Stage 5

Date: 9th August 2020

Start/Finish: Zakopane – Krakow

Distance: 188 km

Charles Planet

That was a fast final stage and it was long! Close to 200 kilometers and hot again, but we came through really well and I am pretty pleased to finish 18th in the bunch sprint against those guys.

I’m definitely not a pure sprinter, but I was in a good position over the final laps and even though the speed was super high and flying out of the corners I managed to follow the moves and kick again in the final.

We wanted more out of the race when we came in, but it was very difficult and personally I didn’t go as well as I expected. The heat played a big part in that with the race being held later in the year than normal and also the lack of racing in the legs.

It is really nice for the team to finish on a positive note though and now the focus shifts to a home race for me at the Tour du Limousin in France next week and I want very much to go well there and be in good form.

Massimo Podenzana

We tried from the start today to get into the breakaway, but the race split into three main groups straight away and when the first move went, we were too far back. Charles tried again to make it across after the first set of climbs, but the pace in the bunch was too high.

It’s been a very difficult week of racing against WorldTour teams in the first WorldTour stage race since the restart and you could see that this time around, we missed having a few months of racing in our legs to compete against these guys.

Each stage has started with a bang, super-fast and also relentless for the rest of each day and that combined with the heat hit us hard, but we came through as a team and finished the race well. I am proud of these boys and the way they have worked here, it’s a good sign for the next races we have coming up in France and then Hungary.

Next Up:

On Tuesday, August 18th the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 1 at the Tour de Limousin – Nouvelle – Aquitaine with a 183.5-kilometer race that starts in Couzeix and finishes in Évaux-les-Bains.

Photo Credit: Rene’ Vigneron