Ridolfo tries from the break on last stage in Denmark

Team Novo Nordisk brought the curtain down on their PostNord Danmark Rundt campaign in characteristically spirited fashion, with leader Filippo Ridolfo animating the 126km final stage from Køge to Rødovre before cruel luck struck twice in the space of two days.

After three consecutive top-20 finishes on the opening three stages, Ridolfo had been caught up in a crash on stage four — only to bounce back with real determination on the final day, putting himself at the front of the race from the outset.

“I’ve been lucky twice now,” said Ridolfo. “Yesterday’s crash didn’t affect me at all apart from a small scratch on my arm — I recovered well overnight and was able to go on the attack today.”

A 22-rider breakaway formed in the early kilometres and quickly built an advantage of just over a minute on the peloton, with Ridolfo prominent in the escape. “We went away in a large group of 22 and pretty quickly we had just over a minute on the bunch,” he said. “They didn’t coordinate their chase for a while, but we knew it would be hard to hold on for the closing laps.”

With 15km remaining less than 30 seconds separated the break from the peloton, and despite further attempts to go clear the escapees were swallowed up inside the final ten kilometres. A major crash in the closing sprint added to an already hectic finale  — and Ridolfo was once again at the centre of it, going down on the last corner and with him the chance of a result on the final day.

“I think someone clipped the foot of the barrier and then we all went down,” he said. “Just like yesterday it happened so fast, but thankfully I’m ok. Now we get a week to recover, reset and get ready for the Czech Tour.”

Despite the frustration of the final two stages, Ridolfo’s performances across the week — three consecutive top-20 finishes at the team’s most important race of the season, racing with growing confidence and authority — give the team plenty of reasons for optimism as the second half of the season gets underway.

With 15km remaining less than 30 seconds separated the break from the peloton, and despite further attempts to go clear the escapees were swallowed up inside the final ten kilometres. A major crash in the closing sprint added to an already hectic finale  — and Ridolfo was once again at the centre of it, going down on the last corner and with him the chance of a result on the final day.

“I think someone clipped the foot of the barrier and then we all went down,” he said. “Just like yesterday it happened so fast, but thankfully I’m ok. Now we get a week to recover, reset and get ready for the Czech Tour.”

Despite the frustration of the final two stages, Ridolfo’s performances across the week — three consecutive top-20 finishes at the team’s most important race of the season, racing with growing confidence and authority — give the team plenty of reasons for optimism as the second half of the season gets underway.