Irvine and Poli crack the top 10 on the final Hainan stage

The final stage of the Tour of Hainan was the longest of the race at 203 kilometers and brought Team Novo Nordisk its best results of the race. With the general classification down to 30 seconds between the podium positions and bonus seconds up for grabs, the first hour of racing saw several attacks and counter-attacks but in a repeat of other flat stages, after numerous attempts the race ended in a ferocious bunch sprint.

The world’s first all-diabetes cycling team was represented upfront by Declan Irvine and Umberto Poli who sprinted to 8^th and 9^th respectively.

“Everyone did a really good job, we covered all the moves in the front and getting bottles all day,” Irvine said.

“The guys worked really well in the final too. A couple of the guys went above and beyond, smashing it. We got over the climbs in the front group and it came to a big bunch kick. The speed in the last 5 kilometers was just incredible as we were on one big straight road. Quinten was there trying to help me in the end and there was a big crash with 1km to go so we got separated.”

“I surfed the wheels from there and I found the yellow jersey Aaron Gates wheel and he kind of led me out and this miracle gap opened on the right side and we cut through it. To crack the top 10 was pretty awesome, I’m happy we could finish the race that way,” Irvine concluded.

“It was full gas all day today with teams chasing bonus seconds,” Poli said. “The team of the leaders jersey control the race to make it a sprint and Declan and I felt good in the final. It’s a good result for the team after a long stage and we’re happy and can finish the Tour of Hainan with a good performance.”

The team will next travel to Italy for GP Industria & Artigianato on 8th September.