Andrea Peron Scores Top 10 in Tour de Korea Opener

Race: Tour de Korea, Stage 1

Start/Finish: Busan / Gumi, Korea

Distance: 189.1 kilometers

Gumi, Korea — Team Novo Nordisk’s Andrea Peron sprinted to ninth place on Stage 1 of the Tour de Korea.

Sunday’s 189.1-kilometer race from Busan to Gumi featured one categorized climb and saw a four-man breakaway escape after 40 km of racing. The final escapee was swept up inside the final 10 km. A bunch sprint ensued with Jon Aberasturi (Team Ukyo) taking the win.

“Our riders tried to get into the breakaway but in the end, everyone worked together for Andrea during the finish,” Team Novo Nordisk’s Sport Director Massimo Podenzana said. “We were happy to see Andrea finish in the top 10 but this wasn’t his top performance. He is still recovering from the Tour of California and all the travel. We hope to see him get more results in upcoming stages.” 

Following their strong team performance on stage 1, Team Novo Nordisk currently sits 4th overall in team classification.

Team Novo Nordisk continues racing on Sunday with the one-day Philadelphia International Cycling Classic. The race features nine laps around a 12.3-mile course and an uphill finish on the famed Manayunk Wall. On Monday, the team resumes racing at the Tour de Korea with Stage 2. The 235.2-km race begins in Gumi and features two categorized climbs before a downhill finish into Gunsan.

Results: 

• 1^st: Jon Aberasturi (Team Ukyo): 4:26:30
• 2^nd: Brenton Jones (Drapac Professional Cycling): same time
• 3^rd: Joon Yong Seo (KSPO): same time

Team Novo Nordisk Results: 

• Andrea Peron: 9^th: same time as Aberasturi
• Chris Williams: 26^th: same time as Aberasturi
• David Lozano: 30^th: same time as Aberasturi
• Charles Planet: 37^th: same time as Aberasturi
• Javier Megias: 40^th: same time as Aberasturi
• Corentin Cherhal: 96^th: 7:22 behind Aberasturi

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