Italian Triumvirate to lead Team Novo Nordisk at Adriatica Ionica
02 June 2022
To the northeast we go, to the far corners of the Veneto, of Friuli Venezia. Crossing over the border into Slovenia and back again. Heading down the coast to the Riviera of Cornero, the falling green cliffs of Fano and one last aperitivo in Ascoli Piceno. Team Novo Nordisk is back racing in Italy at the sixth edition of the beautiful Italian stage race Adriatica Ionica.
Although relatively new to the UCI calendar, the five-day race is quickly establishing itself as a tough season addition for many top teams, combining challenging terrain, beautiful scenery and the ever-present weight of history that runs through each grain of Italian soil.
Versatile Italian sprinter and team captain Andrea Peron will lead the team on his home roads with Verona local Umberto Poli and neo pro Filippo Ridolfo alongside also passing close to home.
“I love racing at home,” said Peron. “And this time we pass through one of my regular training routes and there will be a lot of my family and friends out there cheering us on, which will be very special.”
“I missed the Tour of Estonia due to some sickness, but I’m recovered now and have been training hard over the last week and I feel ready to pick up where I left off at the Tour of Hellas, fighting for a result in every sprint and showing exactly how to drive change in diabetes by giving all we’ve got.”
Experienced Spanish climber David Lozano returns alongside Finnish champion Joonas Henttala and Czech U19 road champion Matyas Kopecky who both come directly from the recent Tour of Estonia and Brit Sam Brand completing the line-up.
“We’re very happy to be returning to Adriatica Ionica,” began General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “We have strong ties to Italy, our European base is in Liguria and along with our three Italian riders, Andrea, Filippo and Umberto, a large number of our staff are also Italian or live there, so it means a lot to us be back racing at an Italian stage race.”
“It’s going to be a tough five days of racing and each stage is challenging, especially Monte Grappa on stage two and we know we’ll have to give everything to try and get some good results here. The guys are motivated, and we’ll be looking to support Andrea in the sprints, but it will be important for us and our sponsors who have a big presence in Italy, to show ourselves and our jersey every day and make the most of the breakaway opportunities.”
Team Novo Nordisk at Adriatica – Ionica, 4th – 8th June:
Sam Brand (GBR, 31)
Joonas Henttala (FIN. 30)
Matyas Kopecky (CZ, 19)
David Lozano (ESP, 33)
Andrea Peron (IT, 33)
Umberto Poli (IT, 25)
Filippo Ridolfo (IT, 20)
Stages:
Saturday 4th June, Stage 1: Tarviso – Monfalcone, 193.8km
Sunday 5th June, Stage 2: Castelfranco Veneto – Monte Grappa, 174.6km
Monday 6th June, Stage 3: Ferrara – Brisighella, 141.3km
Tuesday 7th June, Stage 4: Fano – Riviera del Cornero, 164.5km Wednesday 8th June, Stage 5: Castelraimondo – Ascoli Piceno, 152.3km