TNN Concludes Hard-Fought Tour of China II

25 September 2016

Race: Tour of China II, stage 5

Start/Finish: Zhuhai / Zhuhai, China

Distance: 82.9 kilometers

Zhuhai, China – Team Novo Nordisk concluded a three-week stretch of racing in China on Sunday, with the short but fast stage 5 of the 2016 Tour of China II in Zhuhai.

“It feels good to report that our boys fought hard at this race,” said Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov. “It wasn’t an easy one for us. And maybe it doesn’t look great on paper, but they went in with a strong desire to race well every day. I could see that by how much time they spent warming up today before this last final stage.”

The young Team Novo Nordisk squad spent the majority of today’s stage covering the breakaways as the bunch approached the race’s final five laps.

“Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec didn’t let anyone go far today,” Cherkasov said. “And the field sprint was a road-wide battle. It was not an easy one for Andrea Peron- though he said he finished feeling pretty good. The same goes for Coco, Gerd and Quentin.”

Marco Benfatto (Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec) edged out Riccardo Stacchiotti (Nippo – Vini Fantini) in the sprint for the stage 5 win and to claim the overall victory. Andrea Peron finished best for Team Novo Nordisk at 18th.

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing on Tuesday with Italy’s one-day, semi classic Tre Valli Varesine.