Adriatica Ionica comes to a close in Ascoli Piceno

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