Peter Kusztor

PROFILE

The most experienced rider on Team Novo Nordisk, Hungarian Peter Kusztor returns for 2024 after another positive season for the team in 2023 with the veteran former national road champion producing impressive displays as a late blooming lead-out man at important moments throughout the year and proving to be an good role model for the younger riders.

Kusztor, the elder statesman of the team is set to continue shepherding the team’s young riders towards their major objectives on the road in 2024 after 2023 yielded more positive results with an impressive top ten finish overall at the Tour du Rwanda and top five in both the road race and time trial at the Hungarian National Championships.

After enjoying a positive first two seasons with Team Novo Nordisk in 2019 and 2020 including a pair of back to back top 10 stage finishes at the International Tour of Rhodes (Greece) and 10th overall before a solid performance at his home race, the Tour of hungary after the season restart 2021 and 2022 saw Kusztor embrace his leadership role on the team.

Standout results from 2019 include a top 20 finish on the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California, a debut appearance in the iconic Italian monument Milano-Sanremo, and 25th overall at the Tour of Estonia.

The 39-year-old Olympian turned professional in 2005 with P-nivoBetonexpressz 2000 and raced 14 seasons with UCI Continental squads including Atlas Personal, Utensilnord, Amplatz-BMC, and MyBikeStevens.

Kusztor was racing for MyBike Stevens when he crashed on Stage 3 of the Czech Cycling Tour and broke his collarbone (August 2018). Before going in for surgery, doctors checked his fasting blood glucose levels, which were elevated. Initially, doctors believed he had type 2 diabetes and hospitalized him to bring down his blood glucose. He did not respond to medication, and eventually endocrinologists ran a series of new tests that led to his type 1 diagnosis.

The diagnosis and lifestyle changes were difficult for Kusztor, and he couldn’t imagine continuing racing professionally while managing the condition. Yet the Hungarian had raced against Team Novo Nordisk over the years and knew that all riders on the team competed with type 1 diabetes.

Not wanting to give up his career and dream, Kusztor reached out to Team Novo Nordisk to receive information on nutrition and training advice for someone newly diagnosed with diabetes. After several conversations, the team offered him a spot on the 2019 squad.

Throughout Kusztor’s career, accolades include representing Hungary at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, two-time Hungary national road race champion (2010, 2012), Hungary national time trial champion (2010), winner overall at the Tour of Bretagne (2011), second overall at Gemenc GP (2017) and lined up for five UCI Road World Championships (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2019).

Off the bike, Kusztor is married and has two daughters and a son with a fourth child on the way. His family live outside of Budapest in Páty where he and his wife also run an amateur cycling team.