Tour of Oman

Dutch neo-pro Jan Dunnewind showed everyone how to make a dream debut in the professional ranks by attacking early to form part of the opening stage breakaway at the Tour of Oman before Italian sprinter Andrea Peron took over, flying into the top ten to start the season on a high.

Starting his first senior professional race for Team Novo Nordisk, the 23-year-old climber led from the front as what started out as a five man move reduced to three before finally being caught with 40km to go.

Jan Dunnewind (NLD):

“Ah, it really is a dream come true. I said when I signed my pro contract that one of my objectives was to get up the road in the breakaway and to have achieved that on the first stage of my first race is amazing. Maybe I should have set a harder goal!”

“I felt like I made some good progression this winter and I am feeling like the training is benefitting me. It was a hot day. Coming from the Netherlands I had a little temperature shock here, but I was pleasantly surprised with how many people were on the side of the road and we received some great support today.”

“I was hoping to get the white jersey. I knew there where bonus seconds on the intermediate sprints and saw that if I got some seconds there, I could be in with a chance. But unfortunately for me Kaden Groves finished third in the sprint and took more seconds than me, so congratulations to him. I’ll have to see if I can get up there again.”

Andrea Peron (ITA):

“It feels really good to start with a top ten result. Already I’m feeling much better than last season and I was fifth or sixth wheel going in but slipped back a little within the last 100 meters. There’ll be more opportunities here in the sprints, but to start how we did today in such a positive fashion in is really satisfying.”

Sport Director, Gennady Mikhaylov (RUS):

“We had two goals today. Get in the break and try to look after Andrea to have a go in the sprint and we achieved both our targets. The day started out perfectly, Jan did a great job to be alive to the breakaway opportunity and make sure he was in there. He showed great hunger and desire to be in the right place and then he worked hard to make sure he stayed there for as long as possible.”

“All of our new riders are showing great desire and motivation early on and that’s rubbing off on the older guys, we need to be visible in races and show ourselves. For us, getting in the breakaway is the best way to do that.”

“Having Jan up the road meant that we could sit back in the peloton and stay sheltered, keeping Andrea in position and once the break was finally caught, we could concentrate all our efforts on Andrea. The team did a great job, we stayed together, and Andrea produced a strong result. All in all, a good day.”

The second day of racing at the Tour of Oman bore witness to early drama for Team Novo Nordisk as stage one breakaway star Jan Dunnewind crashed out with a suspected broken collarbone as teammate Stephen Clancy sped off into the distance for his own day out front.

Stephen Clancy (IRL):

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been out front in a bike race, so I’m very happy that I was able to get up the road early and play my part. But at the same time, we were very sorry to lose Jan to an early crash, he was in a great place on the top ten on GC and we all wish him a speedy recovery. He definitely inspired us all yesterday.”

“The winds were very strong today and that definitely affected our average speed out there, but there were only two of us and we worked very well together to stay away as long as we did. For sure we’ve got the breakaway bug now and we’ll be trying again tomorrow, the stage will be quite a bit lumpier than today, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Sport Director, Gennady Mikhaylov (RUS):

“What a day of mixed fortunes for us. Yesterday we did everything right, breakaway, top ten in the sprint and Jan sixth on GC. Today, Stephen in the break, Jan crashed out and Andrea Peron just outside the top ten in the sprint. But hey, that’s cycling and you have to take the rough with the smooth.”

“Of course, the objectives change a little now, we were looking at protecting Jan’s position overall and maybe trying to get him into the white young rider’s jersey, but now we’ll focus on stage results and continuing to show ourselves at the front.”

“Jan will be ok. A broken collarbone is an almost routine injury for a cyclist, and he should be back on the bike soon and make a good recovery. As for Stephen, he did a great job out there, only two guys in the break and they rotated for as long as they could and it was great that Stephen took the initiative and went early.”

Third day of racing at the Tour of Oman and the third breakaway on the bounce for Team Novo Nordisk. The world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team did it again with Italian rouleur Umberto Poli seizing his chance by getting into the early six man move.

Umberto Poli (ITA):

“It was important for us to get in the break again today, we knew that the stage profile and the hard uphill finale wouldn’t suit us for a result, so gaining visibility and looking after Charles and Andrea was our key objectives as tomorrow could be set for another sprint.”

“I loved it. Getting up there and working well with the other guys. It was a good group and we rotated pretty well, but it was always going to be hard for us to stay away. Apart from a few stomach issues I’m feeling good and the morale within the team is very high. I can’t wait to go again tomorrow!”

Sport Director, Gennady Mikhaylov (RUS):

“Today’s stage was always going to be a lot tougher, the profile told us that and the riders in overall contention were the ones who dictated how the finish played out. For us it was important to get in the break again and try to keep Andrea as fresh as possible for tomorrow if we can make it over the climb’s in good shape then there’s a real chance of a sprint.”

Charles Planet:

“It was a real battle today. Right from the flag drop we were fighting and lots of riders got shelled on the first climb. Everything split, at one point there were groups all over the place when DSM attacked, but to be honest I felt really good. It was super-hot again, over 30 degrees and I managed to stay at the front for the most part.”

“I knew it was going to be hard today, it was a climbing stage, and you could feel it yesterday that the big teams were already looking to race aggressively and split things up. It’s been eight months without racing for me and I’m really proud of what I did today I managed to keep a good pace, solid numbers in hard conditions and I can take a lot of motivation from today.”

Sport Director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“Today ended up being a lot harder than we expected. The race exploded from the start. We were straight into an uphill section and the teams at the front just lit it up, splitting the race into different groups. Charles and Umberto managed to stay up there in the main bunch behind the breakaway until the second climb and after that it was about keeping a good pace and conserving as much energy as possible.”

“It’s good to see Charles coming back day by day, he’s getting stronger and you can see that from today’s results. We’ll see how we recover for tomorrow, but it’s going to be another very tough day and if it is raced as aggressively as today, then we are in for a long day.”

Four chances, five taken for Team Novo Nordisk at the Tour of Oman as the world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team get back to basics and focus on Driving Change in Diabetes from the front as Italian neo-pro Filippo Ridolfo became the latest TNN rider to animate the breakaway on the wide middle eastern roads.

Filippo Ridolfo:

“I had a bad day yesterday, so let’s say that I wanted to redeem myself! It is a really good feeling to have been able to be part of the breakaway here in Oman at my first race as a neo-pro, but it was not easy.  After Jan did it on the first day, I’ve been waiting for my chance to have a go and we’ve managed to play a part in the break on all but one of the stages which is great.”

“We had a good idea how the stage would unfold, and we had a plan to get in the break from the start. Knowing that it would go early, and that the peloton wouldn’t give us much space, and they didn’t. It was exciting though, to be up there showing the jersey and I can feel the winter training starting to pay off.”

Sport director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“Fantastic work by Filippo getting in the break today, that’s four out of five opportunities we’ve taken and it’s already a vast improvement on last season. Filippo was hungry to shoe himself after Jan’s exploits on stage one and today with the Green Mountain climb coming right at the end was a perfect scenario to get in the early move.”

“Once again, we told the guys that they needed to be switched on at the start, because we knew that the break would go straight from the flag drop as the GC teams would want to bring the race back together before the climb. It was a short window of opportunity and I’m very pleased that we made the most of it.”

“It was a hard final climb and once they’d been caught, Filippo tried to hang on with Charles and Umberto for as long as he could before Charles showed yet again signs that he’s on his way back with another good effort up to the finish and another top 40.”

Over six days of racing and five breakaways Team Novo Nordisk racked up a top ten finish in the opening sprint with Andrea Peron, a welcome return to form by leader Charles Planet and impressive debuts by neo-pros Filippo Ridolfo and Jan Dunnewind.

Dunnewind kicked it all off on stage one before crashing cruelly out the next day with a broken collarbone for company and a ticket home to recover. Experienced Irishman Stephen Clancy came next with an impressive 100km plus stint up the road with only one Euskadi rider for company.

Italian’s Umberto Poli and Ridolfo picked up the baton before Gerd de Keijzer proved he really is over those knee problems by making it five out of six on the final stage, with Planet putting it all behind him with a superb finish from a very reduced peloton on the tough closing circuits.

Gerd de Keijzer:

“It was great! The first couple stages for me it was all about helping Andrea for the sprints and protecting Charles by getting them bottles all day and keeping them out of the wind, today there was a good change again for the break and I took it straight away, I broke away straight from the gun and had a nice group and worked great together.”

“I missed it so much, it was amazing getting back into the mix again with the preparation for the sprint and now experiencing again being in the break, couldn’t wish for a better start for the season.”

Charles Planet:

“Today quite a punchy stage actually with the climb coming before the circuits at the end and also three times over a sharp ramp on the laps, but I felt really good and as the group got smaller, I was able to stay there and fight for a top 20 at the end.”

“Actually, it’s been almost one and a half years since I felt like this, good legs and in the first group fighting for a result. It’s a really good feeling to be getting stronger and gives me a lot of confidence for the next races.”

Gennady Mikhaylov:

“So that’s it. First race down and almost a full house from the breakaway. We only missed one stage and it was arguably the hardest of the race, and everyone has an off day. We’re pleased with what we produced here at the Tour of Oman, especially for our first appearance at the race. I think we left a good impression and to see all the guys do their jobs well and achieve their objectives leaves me with a strong feeling of optimism for our next races.”