Team Novo Nordisk Returns to Tour de Pologne with High Aspirations

31 July 2019

Race: Tour de Polonge (3-9 August 2019)
Country: Poland
Total Distance: 1060.5 kilometers
Race Class: 2.UWT

Team Novo Nordisk returns to the World Tour stage this Saturday at the Tour de Pologne (Tour of Poland) with a strong and versatile squad seeking to animate the race and pursue high-level performances throughout the seven-day race.

This will be the third participation in the Tour de Pologne by the world’s all-diabetes pro cycling team after being awarded wildcards in 2016 and 2017. “It’s a great honor to participate at the Tour de Pologne, a prestigious World Tour event and we have to give a big thank you to the Lang family for their belief and support of our mission,” said Team Novo Nordisk General Manager Vassili Davidenko.

The 76th edition of the most prestigious cycling race in Eastern Europe will kick off this Saturday, August 3rd in Krakow, the cultural capital of Poland with a 136-kilometer stage with some lumpy terrain that should favor a bunch sprint. The race concludes on Friday, August 9th in Bukowina Tatrzanska with a climbing stage in the heart of the Tatra Mountains. In between, the 23 teams will tackle some exciting sprint stages, summit finishes and stage parcours perfect for breakaway exploits. Stage 4 will feature a brand new finale at theTour de Pologne with the finish climb of Kocierz, a steep wall reminiscent of the emblematic Mur de Huy, about one kilometer with gradients of more than 20%. Another highlight of this year’s route will be Stage 6 in Zakopane, which has been laid out on a new route featuring an excruciating final climb about four kilometers from the finish line.

“The longest stage will be 173 km and the shortest one 132 km. With these distances, we will witness an increase in the average speed adding to the already challenging parcours. Stage 6 includes a total of five 1st category climbs while the high difficulty Stage 7 will force a selection in the peloton and decide who will be the overall race winner.

“Team Novo Nordisk has shown very strong performances and growth in the first half of the season and will bring our best roster to this race. We want to feature in breakaways and we’ll aim to fight for top placings across the finish line,” said Davidenko.

Team Novo Nordisk will line up with a very motivated seven-rider roster with a mix of experienced riders who have proven themselves on Polish soil and eager debutants who will be looking to seize the opportunity to shine on one of the biggest stages of the World Tour calendar.

Frenchman Charles Planet will make his third participation inTour de Pologne after proudly showcasing the #ChangingDiabetes jersey in the race back in 2016 and 2017. The 25-year-old Frenchman has had standout performances this season in all three of the World Tour events appearances and featured in breakaways at the UAE Tour, Milano-Sanremo and Amgen Tour of California.

Planet is keen on continuing his streak and making his mark on the Polish race.

”I’m really happy to start my 3rd Tour de Pologne as a World Tour race. This year the parcours is very tough, especially the last two stages but I will take it day-by-day. I’m hoping to get into breakaways and fight for a result on a stage. We are thankful to the organization for the wildcard and for sure our main goal is to show our jersey at the front of the race and inspire people with diabetes,” said Planet.