Baloise Belgium Tour looms large on the calendar for Team Novo Nordisk
10 June 2024
Team Novo Nordisk head into one the of the most important races of the season this week at the Baloise Belgium Tour with the world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team targeting inspiration alongside results.
In a world already beset by challenges, racing at the highest level of professional cycling as a team of athletes who live with Type 1 diabetes can sometimes throw up obstacles that seem insurmountable.
But, thanks to the advancements in research and innovation in medicine and technology the riders of TNN can now manage their condition to allow them to perform week in week out on the global stage, and achieve their goals as a team while inspiring, educating and empowering a worldwide diabetes community that unfortunately grows larger every week.
Team captain Andrea Peron will lead the line alongside Czech star Matyas Kopecky with the duo looking for more top results in the sprint stages that come after the opening day individual time trial.
“The Baloise Belgium Tour is always a very significant race for us and our principal partner Novo Nordisk,” said General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “It is a key moment in our calendar and we are very much focused on performance and doing as much as we can to Drive Change in Diabetes and inspire the community.”
“We are coming into Baloise on the back of a busy and successful first half of the season, we have achieved most of our goals so far and with both Andrea and Matyas in good form we look forward to giving our best over the next week of racing. They have a strong team in support and we will be looking to take our chances both in the breakaways and the sprints.”
Australian Declan Irvine is set to play a key support role with Brits Sam Brand and Nathan Smith and young Italian neo pro Alessandro Perracchione completing the team along with 23-year-old Belgian Quinten De Graeve.
“Matyas and I have developed a good understanding in the finals this season,” said Peron. “We are both slightly different in terms of our characteristics and obviously we are at different stages in our careers, but we complement each other well and it’s a classic blend of youthful talent and experience. Though for me, a key positive for us is our ability to communicate deep into a race and adapt our approach to the final if we need to. There are so many variables in racing, that situations can change at any time. Anything can happen and we always need to be switched on.”
“The competition is usually fiercely strong at the Belgium Tour and this year will be no different, so it will be important to be at our best in terms of communication, performance and how we conduct ourselves in the eyes of the global diabetes community that we are a part of. You all are who we race for and we don’t only want to inspire you, we want to succeed for you also.”
Team Novo Nordisk at the Baloise Belgium Tour 12th – 16th June:
Sam Brand (GBR, 33)
Quinten De Graeve (BEL, 23)
Declan Irvine (AUS, 25)
Matyas Kopecky (CZ, 21)
Andrea Peron (IT, 35)
Alessandro Perracchione (IT, 19)
Nathan Smith (GBR, 23)
Stages:
Wednesday 12th June, Stage 1: Beringen – Beringen (ITT), 12km
Thursday 13th June, Stage 2: Merelbeke – Knokke-Heist, 184.2km
Friday 14th June, Stage 3: Turnhout – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, 188.3km
Saturday 15th June, Stage 4: Durbuy – Durbuy, 177km
Sunday 16th June, Stage 5: Brussels – Brussels, 186.2km