Team Novo Nordisk Concludes Challenging Tour de Beauce

20 June 2016

Race: Tour de Beauce, Stage 5

Start/Finish: St-Georges / St-Georges, Canada

Distance: 122.4 kilometers

St-Georges, Canada — On Sunday, Team Novo Nordisk wrapped the 2016 edition of the Tour de Beauce with a 122.4-km circuit race through St-Georges.

A breakaway of six riders ignited most of the stage, working up a gap of nearly 2:00 minutes. But the peloton was determined to reel in the leaders, and maintained a high speed in pursuit, which dropped several riders with each passing lap. “Everyone new that the tactics of this stage will be simple,” Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov said, “try to stay with diminishing group.”

With three laps to go, a chasing lead group, featuring Team Novo Nordisk’s Joonas Henttala (FIN) and Kevin de Mesmaeker (BEL), had reabsorbed the break, but as the race approached its final lap, the Team Novo Nordisk riders struggled to maintain contact.

“It was a very hard stage,” Henttala said. “The pace was high from the gun, and it was like elimination race on a hilly city circuit. On the few few stages, I perhaps didn’t feel my best, but today I found my legs. I just missed a split in the final, so I’m slightly disappointed, since I thought I’d have a result in me today.”

Gregory Daniel (Axeon Hagens Berman) went on to take the stage win and overall win. Henttala finished best for Team Novo Nordisk on stage 5 at 23rd.

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, reconvenes next week for a mid-season training camp in Italy, where they will prepare to for their debut at a World Tour stage race at the prestigious Tour de Pologne.

Results: