Andrea Peron

Borgoricco, Italy

Sprinter

HEIGHT 178cm/5’8”

DOB 28-10-1988

AGE OF DIAGNOSIS 16

YEARS WITH TEAM 9

This season I hope to be able to go back to normal and try to be the best that I have ever been.

PROFILE

Here since the beginning, 2021 will be the ninth season with Team Novo Nordisk for versatile Italian sprinter Andrea Peron. Despite a fractured 2020 campaign due to COVID-19, Peron still managed to show consistency and accumulate close to 4,000 kilometers over 20 race days with stand out results including 11th on stage 4 of Okolo Slovenska and a top 20 finish at Circuito de Getxo in Spain.

The 32-year-old from the Veneto is known for his power and fearlessness in the sprints. In Team Novo Nordisk’s first year, he earned 14 top ten finishes, including podiums at Canada’s Tour de Beauce and the Tour of China. Three times Peron rode in the day’s main breakaway at the iconic one-day Italian race Milan-San Remo for most of the 298-kilometer event, proudly bringing worldwide attention to the Team Novo Nordisk jersey.

Additional highlights over his professional career include nine top 10 finishes throughout the 2019 season, a podium finish on Stage 5 of the Tour de Korea (2015), two top five placings at Brazil’s Volta Ciclística Internacional do Rio Grande do Sul (2016) and fifth place on Stage 1 of the Tour of Estonia (2018).

Peron was drawn to sports at a very early age. He enjoyed motor racing at first, but at 10, his parents found it too risky, and so he switched to cycling and soon began competing. He immediately found success and was already winning races in his first year. As he continued winning throughout Italy, he realized he might have the talent to be a professional cyclist.

At 16, when Peron was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, he thought his dream of racing was over. Fortunately, his doctor encouraged him to continue training and to use the bike as a way to manage his condition. After four successful seasons with Cyber Team-VC Breganze, the young sprinter was introduced to Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director, Massimo Podenzana, and joined the team the following season.

Off the bike, the 32-year-old enjoys relaxing at home with his family. He and his wife are proud parents of a son.

BEST PERFORMANCES

2020

19th – Circuito de Getxo-Memorial Hermanos Otxoa

2019

3rd – Tour of Estonia, Stage 1
6th – Tour of Estonia, GC

2018

5th – Tour of Estonia, Stage 1
7th – Tour de Hongrie, Stage 2

2017

10th – Tour of Estonia, GC

Diabetes Q&A

Tell us about when you were diagnosed and how you found out?

I had not been feeling good for a couple of months- nothing too bad, but I wasn’t feeling 100%.

Eventually, I began to have trouble seeing, and I had to pee every ten minutes and drink a lot.

What was your initial reaction?

I didn’t know anything about diabetes, so in the beginning I was confused

How did your family/friends/fellow athletes react?

My family was worried at the beginning, of course. And for a while, the only person outside of my family who knew that I had diabetes was my cycling director.

Did you think your days as an athlete were over? Did others? What did your doctor say?

My doctor immediately told me that my days as an athlete were not over.

For those diagnosed after they started cycling: What was it like riding with diabetes and how did you adjust?

I was diagnosed in the off-season, so I had some time to learn a little bit about managing diabetes.

Sports Q&A

Tell us about how you got started in your sport.

My father used to ride the bike, just for fun. And I used to see him ride the bike and watch some races on TV, and I decided to start. At first, my dream was to ride a motorbike, but after a while I got started with cycling.

When did you start competing?

I began when I was about 10-11 years old.

How/when did you know cycling was something you wanted to do professionally?

When I began to win a lot of races in U23 category, I knew wanted to become a professional. And I began to have reach out to some pro teams.

What do you think is your biggest achievement in your athletic career?

The knowledge that, when I’m riding my best, I can be in the top ten at major races.

Being part of Team Novo Nordisk

How did you come to join Team Novo Nordisk?

My ex-director put me in touch with Directeur Sportif, Massimo Podenzana.

How has your life changed since you joined the team (both as an athlete and as a person)?

I am more mature as a result of being a pro cyclist. I need to travel a lot and this allows you to know how the world runs, and, because cycling is my work, I‘ve learned to do the life of a cyclist life at 100%.