PostNord Danmark Rundt – Tour of Denmark

Head Sport Director, Massimo Podenzana

“It ended up being a very nervous stage today. At the start it unfolded as we expected, the first attacks formed the breakaway and the bunch stayed pretty controlled until we hit the final circuits in Esbjerg…then it all exploded.”

“The break was caught and the sprinters team really started to drive the pace and unfortunately a few crashes occurred and we got caught up in them. Andrea managed to avoid the worst of it and hold his position at the front. He finished well to be fair and considering he’s recovering from some sickness we’re happy with how the day went.”

Andrea Peron (ITA)

“I felt pretty good through the day and the guys did a great job of keeping up front and positioned well. Robbe has made a good start with us and despite crashing a couple of times he got back up and tried to help out again. Which is a great sign.”

“The final circuits were really fast, as we anticipated, but the guy in front of me lost all he wheel and caused a bit of a split so I couldn’t finish any higher. The sensations are coming back slowly after being sick for a while and I’m happy to feel like I can put some power down again.”

Sport director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“We had our sights set on the breakaway today and Sam Brand was the first of our guys to try and then Umberto, but the early attacks weren’t sticking. Two guys managed to slip away and unfortunately we missed that move.”

“The bunch split a few times with the wind, but nothing too dramatic and another small group bridged across ahead of the final circuits and from then on it was pretty frantic.“

“Those closing circuits were tough for us and we felt the ramp up to the finish each time we passed, but Andrea and David worked hard and did their best to finish as near to the front as possible. Tomorrow will be the most challenging stage of the race and we would love to be up the road in the break, but let’s see. If we position ourselves well, it’s possible.”

David Lozano:

“Man it was hard at the end today, the circuits were covered really quickly as the big guys wanted to make sure they had the chance for the uphill sprint. Andrea and I were up there until the last lap and then we slipped back a little.”

“Everyone did their job today and rode for the team. We can hold our heads high and look forward to tomorrow and another chance to show what’s possible with diabetes and try to get up the road and make our jersey visible at the front of a race that means a lot to us.”

Sports Director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“We had one objective for today and that was to get in the breakaway. We knew it was going to be a hard task and we knew that there was going to be a hard competition for the breakaway and we also knew it was a very fast start due to the proximity of the first intermediate at sprint.”

“Nevertheless, all our guys tried their hardest to either get in the breakaway or force the breakaway move.

Repeated attacks take a big toll on the body and its resources. Unfortunately, each move was brought back by the bunch. By the time our guys had the time to recover to go again, a seven-man move has already formed.”

“David gave it his all on the Changing Diabetes climb and after creating a small gap was caught by the bunch just before the top of the climb.”

“The race was very intense up until the difficult final circuit. At which point the whole field split to pieces. David did well to maintain his position in the main bunch. The rest of the guys rode together to show their team spirit and conserve energy to go again tomorrow.”

David Lozano:

“It was really hard mentally today, because the objective was to be in the breakaway and despite our efforts, we didn’t make it. I attacked really hard on the first KOM and gained a small gap, but I was caught before the top of the climb and expended way too much energy too early to go again so soon.”

“Sam, Umberto, Declan, Andrea, Peter, we all tried to go over those opening kilometers and I think we should be proud of how much we gave trying to get an attack going. But forming the breakaway isn’t always easy and today wasn’t our day to be out front.”

“We needed to adapt our strategy for the rest of the stage and all the guys helped me to stay in a decent position until the final circuits and from there it was all about hanging on. We need to recover for tomorrow now, it’s another important day for the team and for our sponsors Novo Nordisk and we are focused on showing them how much we appreciate their support.”

Sport Director Gennady Mikhalov:

“Today was the last open road stage of this years Tour of Denmark. It was an important day for us because we passed one of the largest Novo Nordisk sites which produces almost half of the world’s insulin in Kalundborg.”

“We knew we had to be on the front of the race, keep all the guys together to show our appreciation to Novo Nordisk. As we approached Kalundborg, Declan led the way by bringing all the guys up to the front alongside Deceuninck QuickStep.”

“The boys put in a big effort and as the race hit the final circuits, the biggest teams increased the pace to try and bring back the breakaway. Inevitably this caused splits within the bunch. David did a great job again by holding his position and battling hard to stay up there for as long as he could, eventually finishing just behind the leaders as the breakaway managed to stay clear to contest the stage win.”

Declan Irvine:

“Despite Andrea and Umberto both trying early on, we missed the break again and that was additionally frustrating because the eight riders who went clear ending up staying away to fight for the stage win.”

“However the silver lining was that we managed to fight our way up to the front of the bunch in time to pass Novo Nordisk in Kalundborg. We used a lot of energy getting up there, but it was worth it to be able to lead the race past one of the most significant insulin producing sites in the world.”

Sports director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“There’s no glossing over it, we came into the Tour of Denmark with clear objectives and although we achieved some of our goals we didn’t achieve them all and we know there’s some areas we need to work on.”

“Getting in the breakaway was very important to us and we didn’t manage to do that, but we had David who rode well everyday and Declan who showed grit and determination and also developing leadership skills in driving his teammates forward on stage 4.”

“Unfortunately Declan went down in the wet in the TT today, he finished and we hope he recovers quickly but he needs a scan on his knee. We went through the week together as a team and that’s the most important thing.”

Declan Irvine:

“I was going really well in the TT today and I felt the best I’d felt this week which makes it so much more gutting that I went into a tight corner too fast in the wet and came down.”

“Yeah, I managed to finish, but I’m really disappointed. Went it happened I slid and bounced up on the curb and to be honest my first thought was my back because I was winded. I still had difficulty breathing when I got going again, but now it’s my knee that appears to have borne the brunt of it.”

“I’m having scans later, so fingers crossed it’s only swollen. All in all we wanted to have a better week here in Denmark, for the team and for Novo Nordisk, but we overcame the challenges together and I think we can still show what we can do before the season ends.”