Race Against The Clock Through Sunshine and Hail at PostNord Danmark Rundt

15 September 2017

Race: Tour of Denmark, PostNord Danmark Rundt, Stage 4

Start/Finish: Randers/Randers, Denmark

Distance: 17.8 kilometers

Randers, Denmark — Friday’s individual time trial took place on a 17.8-kilometer out-and-back course that started and finished near the indoor rainforest in Randers. The first riders tackled the course under clear skies. Yet moments after Romain Gioux crossed the finish line, the skies opened up and heavy rains and even hail fell on the riders.

Matthias Brandle (Trek-Segafredo) laid down the fastest time in 20:57. Even while racing on slick roads and heavy rains, Charles Planet was Team Novo Nordisk’s fastest rider, finishing 1:59 behind Brandle. After taking over the lead on Stage 3, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) remained the overall race leader.

David Lozano

“Today we awoke to our first sunny day. I was expecting the nicest day of the week, and then the rains started while I was out on course. I definitely had to take extra caution in the turns. At that point, I focused on just making it a solid time trial; it wasn’t super fast but not super slow. Now I’m completely focused on tomorrow’s final stage.”

The world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team continues competing in two races: the Tour of China and the PostNord Danmark Rundt. Saturday serves as the final stage of the PostNord Danmark Rundt while it is a transfer day at the Tour of China. Stage 5 in Denmark is a 198-km race that begins in Ebeltoft and features seven challenging laps on a circuit around Aarhus.