Adriatica Ionica Race

Team Novo Nordisk enjoyed a hot and hectic opening stage of Italian stage race Adriatica Ionica as the peloton passed only two kilometers from neo pro Filippo Ridolfo’s home in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region with Padovan Andrea Peron 13^th on the stage.

Andrea Peron:

“It was a hot one today and it was also a tough one. I didn’t feel quite at my top level and in the second half of the stage there were a few little attacks over the climbs and myself and David managed to stay up there, but the penultimate climb saw the breakaway caught and we both slipped back a little.”

“Thankfully we mounted a chase caught back on, but in the lats ten kilometers it split again, and five guys went clear, they stayed away and fought for the stage maybe 20 seconds ahead of us and then all we could do was sprint for the top ten. I hope I feel better tomorrow, but we’ve got to make it up Monte Grappa and that’s going to be a long climb.”

Head sports director Massimo Podenzana:

“A few guys suffered a bit with the heat today, but we need to get used to that because it’s going to get hotter over the next few days and it’s important that we stay hydrated and try as much as possible to be together and help each other. Especially for Andrea in the finals.

“It was a tough day, and we were a little bit unlucky with Filippo hitting the deck in the feed zone, but that can happen to anyone and thankfully he’s ok. Tomorrow should be straightforward, but not easy. All day we will ride fairly flat roads that lead in only one direction, to the mighty Monte Grappa and then we climb for close to 30km.”

Spanish climber David Lozano made the early jump into the breakaway on the Queen Stage of Adriatica Ionica pushing onto the low slopes of the mighty Monte Grappa climb, the jewel of the Venetian Alpine foothills.

David Lozano:

“It was a key objective of ours to get in the breakaway today and see how the stage would play out. We knew that there was little chance of the break staying away, but if you don’t try…you never really know so we had to give it a go.”

“In the end I made it into the right move, we worked well together but it was very hot out there and the bunch didn’t give us much rope and we were caught in the early km’s of the Monte Grappa climb. From there it was about survival and man, I won’t be forgetting today in a hurry.”

Head sports director, Massimo Podenzana:

“We said in our team meeting before today’s stage that it was very important to get in the breakaway and show ourselves and our jersey. It’s great to see that David took that onboard and was alive to the moves and in the right position to make it up road.”

“I’m happy with that. We haven’t come here to fight for the general classification and our focus is on the breakaways and trying to help Andrea get a good result in the sprint stages. Today’s Queen Stage ended up being a day for the overall contenders, so playing our part for the majority of the stage is job done. Now we look towards tomorrow and what that will bring.”

It was a tough day over the rolling hills of Emilia-Romagna. Past the castles, in between the fruit orchards and grape vines came a bike race. Stage three of Adriatica-Ionica, sweltering in the heat Spanish climber David Lozano went deep again, trying to gain a gap and then chasing back on again. The yo-yo effect of an attack filled day and finishing circuits dotted with steep climbs that punished both the legs and the lungs.

David Lozano (ESP):

“I tried hard to get something going again today, there were a few early attempts to get a breakaway started but nothing stuck and at one point I had a real dig on the early climbs, found myself alone out front with a few seconds thinking…’Damn. I need some help here, there’s a long way to go and It’s all up and down, but what the hell. I’m all in.’ So, I kept pushing, but got caught a little later and then the attacks flew again.”

“Man, it was tough, but I like the heat and once I recovered after my first attack, I tried to move up again, but I found myself in between the first two groups and although the groups were small it never really came back together again. We’ve got another hard day coming up tomorrow, so we need to be ready to give it another go.”

Head sports director Massimo Podenzana:

“Both Joonas and David tried hard at the beginning to get into the moves and David especially had great legs, when he attacked, he just rode everyone off his wheel and it’s a shame that he couldn’t make anything stick at the right time.”

“It was a challenging course again and the heat isn’t helping anyone, but like I said yesterday we need to be more together at the business end of the race and that means going to deep to help your teammates. That’s what I want to see tomorrow and for the rest of this race.”

photo credit: @sprintcycling

Young Italian neo pro Filippo Ridolfo put the memories and stiffness of his stage one crash behind him at Adriatica Ionica today, jumping into the breakaway for Team Novo Nordisk as a hot and hilly fourth stage unfolded across Le Marche.

Filippo Ridolfo (ITA):

“It’s been a tough few days of racing, and after crashing on stage one I felt pretty sore on stages two and three but gradually I was feeling a little stronger and Joonas tried to attack early today and follow the first move, but it didn’t stick. So, I thought I’d give it a go and I was lucky because it turned out to be the right move.”

“At first, we were seven guys and the bunch were going full gas behind us, we were doing 55kph and couldn’t gain more than 40 seconds. Then another 15 guys came across and the bunch eased off. The pace in our group didn’t drop though and I hung on until we entered the closing circuits but got distanced on the last climbs. It was good to be up there though and I’m feeling better every day.”

David Lozano: (ESP)

“Filippo did a great job today, he really dug in on what was another hot and hard day of racing and I sat on in the group just behind him, but we started giving the gas on the closing circuits and the front of the race started to split. This kind of short and steep climbs are relentless here and for sure it makes for exciting racing, but it’s hard and I’m glad to have finished again close to the front.”

Head Sports director Massimo Podenzana:

“To be honest we didn’t expect Filippo to go in the break today, but I am happy that he did. We wanted him to recover after he crashed on the first day and he has ridden his way into this race and showed a lot of grit. One more day to come tomorrow and it’s going to be important for us to get in the breakaway again, the finish in Ascoli Piceno does not suit us, so we need to show ourselves early.”

Photo credit: @sprintcycling

Team Novo Nordisk wrapped up the fifth and final stage of this year’s Adriatica Ionica in the historical center of Ascoli Piceno in the region of Le Marche with everyone coming home safely despite an early crash for Finnish champion Joonas Henttala.

Joonas Henttala (FIN):

“I came down in a crash really early on in the stage on the first descent. Luckily I’m not hurt too badly but I’ve lost some skin and had a few mechanicals issues to deal with afterwards. But hey, that’s cycling and it happens. It’s important to get back up and finish the race.”

“I’m happy that I was able to continue and work for the team. We wanted to try to keep David up there around the top 30 and help to position Matyas to have a go in the sprint. Unfortunately, the breakaway group managed to stay away, so we didn’t get that chance but we worked hard, rode as a team and finished as a team.”

Head sports director, Massimo Podenzana:

“We knew coming into Adriatica Ionica that it was going to be a hard race, and it certainly played out that way. The stages were already very difficult and the heat made it up even harder. There’s not a flat day of racing here. David rode very well, but missed the right move once or twice to get a better stage result and a higher placing on GC.”

“The important thing is that we rode together and carried our unique message every day of the race. Our riders compete day in day out to show what’s possible with diabetes and inspire everyone living with this condition. That’s what we’re about and that’s what we came here to do.”

Photo credit: @sprintcycling