Ridolfo sprints to 12th on fast opening stage of Loire Tour
07 April 2026
A fast and sunny opening stage of the Région Pays de La Loire Tour ran for 187.5km from Fontevraud – l’Abbaye to Vertou with Team Novo Nordisk and Italian rouleur Filippo Ridolfo starting well with the 24-year-old sprinting to 12th place.
A seven-rider breakaway formed over the early kilometers and remained out front for most of the stage albeit on a short rope. The peloton had clear interest in a sprint finale and kept the leaders on a tight leash throughout, with the gap constantly hovering around 1:30” – finally reeled in over the closing laps around Vertou.
Despite some late attacks on the penultimate circuit, the sprint was on and Ridolfo managed to come from behind to carry speed into the closing meters to finish 12th for a positive start for the world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team.
“It was a fast stage with a tailwind all day,” began Ridolfo. “But the final circuit was quite hectic because the climb was against the wind and then going towards the finish it was tailwind again so you had to pay attention and the situation felt really dynamic.”
“I was a little further back than I would have liked with two km to go and I managed to pass a few guys in the last two corners and also moved up in the last meters. But it was crowded and I just missed out on the top 10. Not a bad start though and we know the finals are all going to be pretty tense with the circuits.”