Team Novo Nordisk Ignites Dubai Tour Opener

06 February 2018

Race: Dubai Tour, Stage 1

Start/Finish: Dubai/Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Distance: 167 kilometers

Dubai, UAE —Team Novo Nordisk’s Andrea Peron sprinted to a top 10 finish while teammate Charles Planet featured in the day’s main breakaway on the opening stage of the Dubai Tour.

The 167-kilometer race began with a flurry of attacks and initially three riders went clear. When Daniel Teklehaimanot (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) started to bridge up to the escapees, Planet jumped on his wheel. It took nearly eight kilometers of chasing, but they eventually reached the front group rounding out the breakaway to five riders. They built a maximum gap of 4:10.

Heading towards the finish in front of Atlantis, The Palm, the breakaway splintered and only Planet and Andy Fenn (Aqua Blue) stayed off the front. Fenn put in an attack on Planet with 16 kilometers to go and set off alone. He was caught with nine kilometers remaining.

Soon after he was caught, a crash took down nearly a dozen riders at the front of the peloton. All of Team Novo Nordisk riders made it out unscathed. In the sprint finish, Dylan Groenewegen (Team LottoNL-Jumbo) took the wine with Peron finishing ninth.

Andrea Peron

“I was confident before today and now I know I have the form. I had a good winter and came into this race feeling strong again; I felt like how I used to race. I hope to build on this result throughout the race.”

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing at the Dubai Tour on Wednesday with Stage 3. The 190-kilometer stage begins at the Skydive Dubai and features two intermediate sprints before finishing at Ras Al Khaimah.