Recent success in Turkey sparks confidence for TNN as Wallonie beckons
07 May 2024
Eight days of excellent performances by Team Novo Nordisk at last week’s Presidential Tour of Turkey felt like the cherries were starting to top the cake after months of hard work with Matyas Kopecky taking two top five finishes and captain Andrea Peron back in the top ten against WorldTour competition.
Now it’s back to Belgium for the world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team for an inaugural appearance at the 58th edition of the Circuit de Wallonie.
Peron will lead the line in Charleroi with compatriot Umberto Poli providing valuable support alongside 25-year-old Declan Irvine and neo pro Alessandro Perracchione.
“The whole team rode very well in Turkey,” said General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “Day after day, together as a unit everyone doing their jobs collectively to achieve the best result possible and that’s the perfect way to set up our next adventure in Belgium at Circuit de Wallonie. We’re very happy to be making our first appearance at an old one-day race such as this.”
“It’s great to have Andrea back firing again and his experience will be key on Thursday in Charleroi. While at the other end of the age spectrum, we’re excited to be giving an opportunity to learn how tough these races are to our young Italian prospect Alessandro Perracchione. Experience in this style of semi classic race will be great for Alessandro at this early stage of his career.”
Local Quinten De Graeve returns to race on home roads with American Logan Phippen and Dutchman Jan Dunnewind completing the team.
“I’m excited to be racing Circuit de Wallonie for the first time,” said Peron. “I finally started to find some form over the course of the Tour of Turkey and the goal is to try and carry that into Belgium on Thursday and keep the progression moving forward.”
“The final laps with the Mont sur Marchienne climb will be punchy, and we know that we’ll need to be well placed and with good legs when we hit those circuits to stand a chance of a good result.”
Team Novo Nordisk at Circuit de Wallonie, Thursday 9th May:
Quinten de Graeve (BEL, 23)
Jan Dunnewind (NED, 25)
Declan Irvine (AUS, 25)
Alessandro Perracchione (IT, 19)
Andrea Peron (IT, 35)
Logan Phippen (USA, 31)
Umberto Poli (IT, 27)