Relentless Speed and Teamwork on the Road to Qidong

Stage 3 of the Tour of Taihu Lake delivered one of the fastest days of racing so far, with riders averaging an incredible 54.2 km/h over the short, flat 79.2-kilometer route from Huilongzhen to Binhan Village.

Despite the high pace and lack of a stable breakaway, Team Novo Nordisk stayed active and united throughout the stage, positioning Matyáš Kopecký and Andrea Peron for the final sprint amid a hectic and unpredictable finish.

“It was a short and really fast stage,” said David Lozano. “There was no breakaway and constant attacks from start to finish. We tried again to position Andrea and Matyáš for the sprint, but it was really chaotic with no clear trains and riders sprinting from everywhere, which made it both fast and dangerous.”

Kopecký also reflected on the all-out effort and his aggressive approach during the stage:

“The speed was super high all day—54 km/h average,” said Matyáš Kopecký. “I tried to grab a few seconds in the intermediate sprints and was fourth in the first one, which was a shame. I wanted to race offensively, but it didn’t pay off today. In the final I was completely cooked, so Andrea gave it a go in the sprint instead.”

With only one stage remaining, the team will look to close out the 2025 Tour of Taihu Lake with a strong result on Sunday’s final stage around Wuxi (137.5 km) — the longest of the race.