Sam Brand Animates Stage 1 Breakaway at Tour of Slovenia

Team Novo Nordisk made its mark on stage 1 of the Tour of Slovenia, with Sam Brand jumping into the day’s breakaway and giving everyone watching another powerful reminder of what’s possible when living with diabetes.

The stage kicked off with a tough, lumpy start, and Brand knew that positioning near the front would be key to making the race-defining move. He timed it perfectly, bridging across to three other riders to form the day’s breakaway. With the gap established, Brand turned his attention to the intermediate sprint and the King of the Mountains classification, narrowly missing out on the KOM points before shifting focus to holding the front group together.

The break’s advantage came under pressure as the peloton clawed its way back, and when the chasers finally bridged across, a crash split the now-larger lead group. It was a tense finale, but teammate David Lozano was there to support Brand, helping him recover and stay in the fight before crossing the line to lead the team home in 39th.

Reflecting on his day in the breakaway, Brand said:

“It meant a lot to be in the breakaway here, to do what I was asked, to not only support our team but to show those watching in Slovenia and globally that diabetes doesn’t stop you from achieving.”

It was a day that captured exactly what Team Novo Nordisk sets out to do on every start line, racing hard, supporting each other, and proving a point far bigger than the result sheet.

The five-stage race continues tomorrow from Radlje ob Dravi to Ormož and will be raced over 181.8km.