TNN concludes Tour of Taihu Lake opener with top 20 result

Team Novo Nordisk returned to Tour of Taihu Lake for the first time since 2019. With the stage 1 distance of only 88.8km race, the race unfolded as predicted – a fast one. The race final was contested in wet conditions, came down to a bunch sprint with Declan Irvine leading the team home in 20^th place.

Sports Director, Massimo Podenzana

The race was very fast right from the start, there were many attacks but no major breakaway. In the last 2 kilometers there was a big crash, luckily none of our riders were involved.

We had Declan and Umberto in the mix in the front. The big positive is we were not involved in the crash and can now focus on stage 2 which will be the longest of the race over 141.8km.

Declan Irvine

“It was good to get the legs going again. A short stage meant it was always going to be fast. We tried to be attentive in case any moves went and in the end the speed was too high for that to happen so we prepared ourselves for the sprint. Umberto and I were both up there although the final result wasn’t as high as we would have liked. We have three more chances so we’re ready to go again.”

Photos: Santic