Team Novo Nordisk Slated to Return to Tour of California

14 March 2019

Team Novo Nordisk announced today that it received a wildcard invitation to the Tour of California

The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) announced Thursday that Team Novo Nordisk is one of 19 teams invited to the 14th edition of the Tour of California. Reactions from Team Novo Nordisk CEO and co-founder Phil Southerland and General Manager Vassili Davidenko below:

Team Novo Nordisk CEO and Co-Founder Phil Southerland:

While we represent the diabetes community, we proudly race as an American-registered team. The Tour of California serves as the most prestigious and sought-after professional bike race on US soil.

After stepping away for a year, we are eager to showcase our jersey and inspire the millions of people who watch this race globally to get out and exercise and chase their dreams. Historically, the Tour of California has been a standout race for us, and our riders have worn multiple jerseys and earned podium finishes. We are motivated to take full advantage of the massive media attention around the Tour of California and race aggressively to inspire, educate and empower everyone affected by diabetes. We would love if everyone with diabetes would come out to the race and cheer for the team.

While we represent the diabetes community, we proudly race as an American-registered team. The Tour of California serves as the most prestigious and sought-after professional bike race on US soil. We are eager to showcase our jersey and inspire the millions of people who watch this race globally to get out, exercise and chase their dreams.

Team Novo Nordisk General Manager Vassili Davidenko:

We took a year off to invest in the development of our athletes and we are motivated to return for our fifth Tour of California. We are grateful to the ASO for extending this wildcard invite and we can officially say that this our race of the year. Since the start of the season, we have designed our calendar and coaching so that we bring the strongest roster possible to the most prominent American stage race.

After a noteworthy WorldTour showing at the UAE Tour in February where Team Novo Nordisk’s Charles Planet wore the race’s intermediate sprint jersey for four stages and riders featured in nearly every breakaway, we aim to build upon these results. Over the past few years, we have invested significantly in helping our riders learn and grow so they can race competitively against the best cyclists in the world. We will arrive in peak form and look forward to showing the world what is possible with diabetes.

The Tour of California kicks off on May 12th in Sacramento, California. The seven-day World Tour race passes through Lake Tahoe, Laguna Seca, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, and Mt. Baldy before concluding in Pasadena.