Easter in Sicily for Team Novo Nordisk
08 April 2023
“Going to Sicily is better than going to the moon.” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team head south to the mythical isle this weekend for their first appearance at the Giro di Sicilia and four spectacular days of hard racing across one of the world’s most beautiful islands.
Talismanic Frenchman Charles Planet returns after recovering from a bout of sickness and slots back into a team where young talents Matyas Kopecky and Filippo Ridolfo have been shining, both coming in hot after excellent rides at Scheldeprijs last Wednesday.
“Wow. Sicily! What an amazing place and a great opportunity for us,” said General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “It will be our first time at the Giro di Sicilia, and we can’t wait. We’re coming into the race on the back of some strong performances in one day races in Belgium, Italy and Spain and the challenge now is to transition that form into stage racing and maintain our good progress.”
“Four tough stages await us in Sicily and the final day will be particularly challenging, climbing Mt. Etna midway through the stage is sure to shake things up and make for a spectacular day of racing.”
Former Hungarian Road champion Peter Kusztor brings a wealth of experience and completes the line up along with Kiwi Hamish Beadle, Veronese Umberto Poli and Brit Sam Brand.
“It’s a really good feeling going into a race you’ve never done before,” said Kopecky. “Especially after a run of good team performances because there’s a buzz within the group and that becomes infectious. You enjoy the racing and embrace the challenge and that’s what we hope to do at the Giro di Sicilia next week.”
“The parcours looks difficult, but there’s a good mix of terrain though overall the race favours the climbers and even the sprint opportunities will maybe suit the punchier guys, but we will look for our chances and try to take them.”
Team Novo Nordisk at Giro di Sicilia 11th – 14th April:
Hamish Beadle (NZ, 24)
Sam Brand (GBR, 32)
Matyas Kopecky (CZ, 20)
Peter Kusztor (HUN, 37)
Charles Planet (FR, 29)
Umberto Poli (IT, 26)
Filippo Ridolfo (IT, 21)
Stages:
Tuesday 11th April, Stage 1: Marsala – Agrigento, 159km
Wednesday 12th April, Stage 2: Canicatti – Vittoria, 193km
Thursday 13th April, Stage 3: Enna – Termini Imerese, 150km
Friday 14th April, Stage 4: Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto – Giarre, 216km