Young Squad Gains Experience at Tour of China II

22 September 2016

Race: Tour of China II, stage 3

Start/Finish: Liling / Liling, China

Distance: 116 kilometers

Liling, China – Thursday’s stage 3 of Tour of China II featured a 166-km circuit through Liling in China’s Hunan province, comprised of four, 29-km loops with a slight uphill at the finish.

After a break of ten riders pulled away following the race’s first few laps, the four Team Novo Nordisk riders remained with the main group, which was led by Nippo – Vini Fantini and Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec.

The escapees were reeled in with two laps to go, and once it was all back together, several teams went on the attack. At 1.5 laps to go, a group of approximately 30 riders, which included Team Novo Nordisk riders Gerd de Keijzer, Corentin Cherhal and Quentin Valognes, broke free and gained just over 0:25 on the main field.

“Coco did great work pulling for Gerd and Quentin,” said Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov. “There was a little confusion between Gerd and Quentin with about 500m to go, but our guys are still learning racing together. I think they got a lot from the experience of being in the break together today.”

Stagiaire Quentin Valognes once again finished best for the Team Novo Nordisk squad, coming in at 23rd, 0:07 behind stage winner Luke Mudgway (Avanti IsoWhey Sport).

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing on Saturday in Qingyuan at stage 4 of Tour of China II.