Final stage race of 2023 at Tour of Turkey for Team Novo Nordisk
06 October 2023
The world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team is set to line up in Antalya at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye on Sunday for the last stage race of the 2023 season and eight days of exciting racing to make the most of.
Team Novo Nordisk go in with a strong squad led by the experienced Italian Andrea Peron and breakout young stars Matyas Kopecky and Filippo Ridolfo.
“We’re extremely looking forward the Tour of Turkey on Sunday,” said General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “This will be our last stage race of the season and it’s always a very significant race on our calendar.”
“It’s been a long and challenging year, but also a very successful one and we need to produce eight more strong performances in Turkey to make sure we go out on a high note.
“The beautiful Turkish landscape makes for stunning, but always difficult terrain and we know that there will be opportunities in the sprint and also in the breakaways, so the guys need to be focused from the first pedal stroke.”
Former Finnish Road champion Joonas Henttala lines up in the last race of his career before retirement with French climber Lucas Dauge, Dutchman Jan Dunnewind and Veronese rocker Umberto Poli completing the team.
“The Tour of Turkey is always super hard,” said Peron. “Some of the most difficult stages I’ve ever raced have been in Turkey and this year will be no different in particular on Thursdays fifth stage to Bodrum which at 212km is the longest of the race.”
“We’ve had a good season with lots of consistency across the board and some standout results and trips to the podium in really big races, but we’re professionals and we want to finish our season strongly. Here in Turkey our opportunities will likely cone from the sprint stages and that’s what we need to be concentrating on.”
Team Novo Nordisk at Tour of Turkey 8th – 15th October:
Lucas Dauge (FR, 26)
Jan Dunnewind (NED, 25)
Joonas Henttala (FIN, 32)
Matyas Kopecky (CZ, 20)
Andrea Peron (IT, 34)
Umberto Poli (IT, 26)
Filippo Ridolfo (IT, 21)
Stages:
Sunday 8th October, Stage 1: Antalya – Antalya, 175km
Monday 9th October, Stage 2: Antalya – Demre, 147km
Tuesday 10th October, Stage 3: Kas – Fethiye, 164km
Wednesday 11th October, Stage 4: Fethiye – Marmaris, 184km
Thursday 12th October, Stage 5: Marmaris – Bodrum, 212km
Friday 13th October, Stage 6: Bodrum – Kusadasi, 198km
Saturday 14th October, Stage 7: Selcuk – Ismir, 170km Sunday 15th October, Stage 8: Istanbul – Istanbul, 145km