10 Oct - 17 Oct 2017

TEAM Pro Team

CITY Various

STAGES 7

TEAM Pro Team CITY Various STAGES 7

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 1

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 1

Start/Finish: Wuxi/Wuxi, China

Distance: 111 kilometers

WUXI, CHINA – Stage one of the 2017 Tour of Taihu Lake ended in a mass sprint on Wednesday following a multi-lap circuit race through Wuxi in steady but warm rain, a distinct change from Tuesday’s sunshine prologue.

All Team Novo Nordisk riders finished safely in the peloton in the same time as stage winner Nicolas Marini of Italy, and will race the mostly flat urban circuits around Taihu Lake all week in this 8-day stage race that makes up a part of the Asia Tour. The final day of racing on Tuesday, October 17 will finish on a hilly course around the nearby Zhenjiang Mao Mountain scenic area.

Charles Planet:

A very flat stage, very fast. But a lot of rain, and the breakaway was small so we sat in with the pack for the expected mass sprint. Not too far today, we worked for Quentin in the sprint and we are working for a top 10 this week.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

111km today with two 30-km circuits in the middle. Rainy conditions. A lot of attacks. Two big crashes. Quentin got caught in the first one, but nothing serious. On the final 10km the team put a train for Quentin. It’s good racing here.”

Team Novo Nordisk races all week in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake, then moves across to Japan for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season at China’s Tour of Hainan.

Results: 

  • Nicolas Marini (Nippo – Vini Fantini) 1st : 2:26:35
  • Ryan Macanally (HR Block Pro Cycling) 2nd : st
  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • Charles Planet 26th : st
  • Quentin Valognes 28th : st
  • Romain Gioux 29th : st
  • David Lozano 52nd : st
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 72nd : st
  • Chris Williams 88th : st

(Photos: ©Anne Wu)

 

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 2

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 2

Start/Finish: Wujin/Wujin, China

Distance: 117 kilometers

WUJIN, CHINA – Another day of rain in China on Thursday puts Team Novo Nordisk in the middle of fast and wet racing at the 2017 Tour of Taihu Lake, this time a lightning-quick circuit race through Wujin and stage two.

Team Novo Nordisk put its collective effort together for the stage to hold a strong position at the front of the peloton coming into the final sprint, with all riders in the same time as stage winner Jakub Mareczko of Italy. Belarusan Anton Muzychkin and Italian Nicolas Marini finished off the podium for the day.

Romain Gioux:

Flat, rainy and windy, and we did good work for a bunch finish. We are learning how to help Quentin in the finish and for each of us there is a lot of improvement.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

“Seven laps plus a 10 km finish straight. Rainy condition for the whole stage. Some crashes and cross winds in the beginning, and then two guys got into a breakaway. Sprint teams controlled the pace, and the guys worked for Quentin at the end.”

Team Novo Nordisk races all week in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake, then moves across to Japan for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season at China’s Tour of Hainan.

Gallery:

Results: 

  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 1st : 2:38:40
  • Anton Muzychkin (Minsk Cycling Club) 2nd : st
  • Nicolas Marini (Nippo – Vini Fantini) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • Quentin Valognes 40th : st
  • Romain Gioux 46th : st
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 48th : st
  • David Lozano 64th : st
  • Charles Planet 87th : st
  • Chris Williams 111th : st

(Photos: ©Anne Wu)

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 3

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 3

Start/Finish: Huzhou/Changxing, China

Distance: 134 kilometers

CHANGXING, CHINA – Sunshine returned to the Tour of Taihu Lake on Friday after two days of rain as the peloton covered 134km with a fast finishing circuit in Changxing.

Team Novo Nordisk flexed its muscles all day on the flat and windy course, sending rider after rider into successive attacks throughout the stage, keeping the overall pace high by pushing at the front.

Stage three ended in a mass sprint near Huzhou, a city of 3 million on the southern shore of Lake Taihu, with repeat winner Jakub Mareczko of Italy first across the finish line, followed by countryman Nicolas Marini and France’s Benjamin Giraud. All six Team Novo Nordisk rider finished in the same time as the stage winner.

Quentin Valognes:

It was flat and windy today, but no rain. All of the guys were really active in the race, and everybody kept attacking and trying to get into the breakaway. It’s important to stay at the front to avoid echelons.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

“Stage 3 was 134km, mostly along the shore of Lake Taihu. A slight crosswind kept the speeds high and resulted in a lot of breakaway attempts. The group stayed together and no break ever got more than 30 seconds. In the bunch sprint, there was a big crash at 4km to go. None of our riders crashed, but the guys were separated and lost their united lead out. There’s more work to do on the team lead out execution.”

Team Novo Nordisk races all week in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake, then moves across to Japan for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season at China’s Tour of Hainan.

Gallery:

Results: 

  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 1st : 2:52:51
  • Nicolas Marini (Nippo – Vini Fantini) 2nd : st
  • Benjamin Giraud (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • Romain Gioux 29th : st
  • Quentin Valognes 38th : st
  • Charles Planet 43rd : st
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 83rd : st
  • David Lozano 89th : st
  • Chris Williams 110th : st

(Photo: ©Anne Wu)

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 4

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 4

Start/Finish: Wujian/Wujian, China

Distance: 117 kilometers

WUJIAN, CHINA – Crosswinds on a hot dog race course filled up most of Saturday at the Tour of Taihu Lake, with stage four coming down to another mass sprint for the peloton and Team Novo Nordisk.

Team tactics during the fast stages put pressure on all six riders from the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling squad to work together and split up the many jobs to be done. Fetching water from the team car behind the peloton, offering protection from the constant crosswinds and navigating to the front as the finish line approaches kept everyone busy right up to the sprint finish at the end.

Top finisher on Saturday was again Italy’s Jakub Mareczko, sprinting ahead of fellow countryman Nicolas Marini and Ukraine’s Andriy Kulyk. All Team Novo Nordisk riders finished in the same time as the stage winner.

Rik Van Ijzendoorn:

Very hectic race today because we had constant crosswinds for all six laps of a hot dog course. We worked for Quentin in the sprint, but at the end it’s always very challenging with a mass sprint.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

“There were some crosswinds today, but not enough to split the group. One break was let go after 30km and kept under control until 15km to go. Good team effort for Quentin in the bunch sprint. He needs to grow some more to be competitive for top 10. Otherwise everything is good.”

Team Novo Nordisk races all week in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake, then moves across to Japan for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season at China’s Tour of Hainan.

Gallery:

Results: 

  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 1st : 2:40:49
  • Nicolas Marini (Nippo – Vini Fantini) 2nd : st
  • Andriy Kulyk (Kolls Cycling Team) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • Romain Gioux 26th : st
  • Quentin Valognes 30th : st
  • Charles Planet 44th : st
  • David Lozano 61st : st
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 94th : st
  • Chris Williams 95th : st

(Photos: ©Anne Wu)

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 5

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 5

Start/Finish: Nantong/Haimen, China

Distance: 148 kilometers

HAIMEN, CHINA – Wet weather picked up again on Sunday for Team Novo Nordisk in China, with warm showers falling throughout stage five, the longest race-day of the week, topping three hours in the saddle at the 2017 Tour of Taihu Lake.

Plenty of tough racing just the same, with the team shifting roles and responsibilities again in a crash-free finale that put Romain Gioux inside the top 20 with clear progress in the final 400m to the finish line.

Spaniard Jon Aberasturi stole thunder from Jakub Mareczko to defeat the Italian for the stage win, Belarus Muzychkin third.

Dry weather is expected Monday, but racing so close to the Chinese sea coast south of Shanghai in mid-October, it’s not unusual for off-again, on-again showers, however warm, to gather along the flatlands and then sweep daily across the lake.

Chris Williams:

It was wet and filthy, 148k, longest stage of the tour. Dead flat and it came down to a bunch sprint, and it got very, very messy. We worked for Charles into the last 500m, and he was up there with Romain at the final turn.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

“We controlled the gap, main bunch swallowed the break with 15k. Bunch Sprint. Good team effort to put Charles and Romain in position for the sprint. Team spirit is good.”

Team Novo Nordisk races all week in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake, then moves across to Japan for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season at China’s Tour of Hainan.

Results: 

  • Jon Aberasturi (Team UKYO) 1st : 3:19:28
  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 2nd : st
  • Anton Muzychkin (Minsk Cycling Club) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • Romain Gioux 20th : st
  • Quentin Valognes 35th : st
  • Charles Planet 36th : st
  • David Lozano 52nd : st
  • Chris Williams 76th : st
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 91st : st

(Photos: ©Anne Wu)

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 6

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 6

Start/Finish: Jiangyan/Jiangyan, China

Distance: 106 kilometers

JIANGYAN, CHINA – Chris Williams jumped quickly and with specific intent into the escaping breakaway on Monday, and then rode the lightning-fast front of the bike race in stage six at the Tour of Taihu Lake.

Dry weather graced the peloton in China at the start, in Jiangyan, a city northwest of Shanghai, and skies held their precipitation throughout the day on the short and challenging stage. Williams joined a handful of riders out in front and held off the peloton until inside the final laps of the circuit.

Quentin Valognes worked as the last man for Romain Gioux, who finished 17th, his top result so far this week, and a clear progression day by day. Tuesday’s stage seven features hills and a challenging finish, and all eyes now turn to riders David Lozano and Charles Planet.

Romain Gioux:

Stage six was a bunch sprint like every other day, and we did a really great job in the finish. It was nervous, with a lot of crashes, but we were smart.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

“Chris went in the break with 5 guys after the first lap, and got a maximum gap of 90 seconds. Average speed was 49kp/h. Break was eliminated 2 laps to go. Bunch Sprint. Guys all worked for Romain again. Quentin was his last lead out guy. Very nervous finish with some crashes.”

Team Novo Nordisk races all week in China at the Tour of Taihu Lake, then moves across to Japan for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season at China’s Tour of Hainan.

Gallery:

Results: 

  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 1st : 2:07:53
  • Mikhel Raim (Israel Cycling Academy) 2nd : st
  • Anton Muzychkin (Minsk Cycling Club) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • Romain Gioux 17th : st
  • Charles Planet 43rd : st
  • David Lozano 59th : st
  • Chris Williams 91st : st
  • Quentin Valognes 93rd : st
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 97th : st

(Photos: ©Anne Wu)

Tour of Taihu Lake - Stage 7

Race: Tour of Taihu Lake, stage 7

Start/Finish: Jurong Chishanhu/Maoshan, China

Distance: 130 kilometers

MAOSHAN, CHINA – The final day of the 2017 Tour of Taihu Lake put David Lozano at the front of the bike race for a hilly stage with a decisive finish at one of China’s sacred Daoist mountains.

Plenty of climbing on tap for Tuesday, with Team Novo Nordisk firmly supporting Charles Planet and David Lozano at the end of a flat week of racing. Planet crashed but remained uninjured on one of the many slippery descents through damp forest roads, but Lozano held on for the final selection to finish inside the top 20 the Queen Stage of the Tour of Taihu Lake.

David Lozano:

Today was the GC day, and we had three climbs to do. Our team was good, Charles was unlucky. The conditions were pretty dangerous with mud and road debris from rain earlier in the week. China was good, we had a good result today and now we look forward to seeing our friends in Japan.”

Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov:

“The team was at the front in the best position and working for both guys on the high-speed narrow roads before the climbs, but after Charles crashed he was out of the first group his chances disappeared. He was ok, but the race was done for him.”

Team Novo Nordisk now moves across to Japan Cup for a pair of one-day races before finishing the 2017 season back in China at the Tour of Hainan.

Gallery:

Results: 

  • Jakub Mareczko (Willier Trestina – Selle Italia) 1st : 2:58:58
  • Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy) 2nd : st
  • Benjamin Giraud (Delko Marseille Provence KTM ) 3rd : st

Team Novo Nordisk:

  • David Lozano 18th : st
  • Romain Gioux 54th : 5:01 back
  • Chris Williams 70th : 11:01 back
  • Rik Van Ijzendorn 73rd : 11:01 back
  • Charles Planet 101st : 14:26 back
  • Quentin Valognes DNF

(Photos: ©Anne Wu)

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