Research data shows that Jet Lag weakens the immune system and negatively impacts performance. With this partnership, Uplift will support Team Novo Nordisk’s athletes to reduce the impact of Jet Lag on the body’s physiological systems and sleep.

“We compete all over the world and our schedule usually does not allow time to recover from Jet Lag," said Sergey Davidenko – VP of Operations and Sponsorships. “When I heard about Uplift, I had to try it. The team started testing the Uplift Jet Lag app over two years ago. There was skepticism among some members of our team, but that disappeared once they witnessed how other members benefited from the Uplift treatment. With this year' race schedule including races in North America and Asia, we're excited to continue this partnership with Uplift to support our athletes in reducing the effects of jet lag on their performance.”

As today's athletes utilize more natural solutions to improve health and wellness, the Uplift team looks forward to working with the professional sports industry to promote the positive benefits of sleep and improve mental and physical performance.

“We are very excited to be renewing the partnership with Team Novo Nordisk,” said Uplift CEO Ted Finn. “The Athletes and mission of Team Novo Nordisk inspire us to
redefine what is possible with diabetes, and we are honored and humbled to assist them in their journey. We know that races can be won or lost in a matter of seconds and that traveling across time zones impacts performance, and this is where we can make a difference.”

 In collaboration with our sponsors Novo Nordisk and the streaming platform of multi-media and outdoor community lifestyle company Outside INC in the USA, Ride for your L1fe is now available to view on the Outside INC fast network and linear channels. 

“There are over 500 million people around the world living with diabetes and that number is rising everyday,” said Phil Southerland, CEO and Co-founder of Team Novo Nordisk and CEO of Supersapiens. “18 of those 500 million compete at the highest level of professional cycling week in week out, month after month and year on year.”

  “We race against the best in the world whilst managing diabetes so that we live to race another day. Sometimes things go wrong. Often things go right. Throughout it all our athletes are supported by a team of dedicated professionals and together we are Team Novo Nordisk and this is a story of a year in our lives.” 

“It can’t be underestimated what goes into making and keeping Team Novo Nordisk a reality day in and day out. We are a unique team, and we have a unique message to carry, the work that every member of this team puts in is what sustains us, and this film is also for them. A lasting testament to the importance of what we do and a small insight into our work so that everyone can see its significance.”

Ride for your L1fe tells only a part of the whole story. The stories of the Team Novo Nordisk riders are unfolding organically every-day and the one constant, never changing fact is that type 1 diabetes is for life and there are good days and bad days.

"When it comes to type 1, I believe it's key to talk/show the ups as well as the downs," says the film director Peter Alsted. "They complement each other, they are part of what living with type 1 implies, they make the characters much more relatable, and real."

 "I think it's also important to remember that pro cycling is a lot of hard work and dedication. These riders are heroes because of the hardship that comes with their quest, but they are humans too, and their humanity is shown in those moments of vulnerability portrayed in the film. Filmmaking is about capturing those moments where you feel both the ups and the downs. Life itself is not a 24hr joy-ride."

Ride for your L1fe is out now on Outside channels. Watch full movie here.

.

“It was heart-warming to feel so connected with Team Novo Nordisk and the broader diabetes community this past weekend,” said Phil Southerland, Team Novo Nordisk CEO and Co-Founder. “All Team Novo Nordisk athletes, ambassadors, management, and staff participated in the event, and all weekend long, we tracked each other’s results and motivated one another to get out and exercise. It truly felt like we were together and that broader sense of connectivity is what we all need right now.”

For 15 years, the 5K@ADA has been an official event during ADA’s Scientific Sessions and has brought together tens of thousands of participants. Due to COVID-19, this year’s event transitioned into a virtual challenge. In total, 4,164 people ran and walked together from 89 different countries and 46 US states during the three-day event held June 12-14, 2020.

“2020 has been a dynamic and unprecedented year for everyone. The 5K@ADA Run/Walk allowed the diabetes community to come together despite our physical distances. Together, we were able to celebrate multiple milestones including ADA’s 80th Scientific Sessions and the 15th anniversary of Novo Nordisk’s 5K@ADA run/walk event,” said Southerland. “Alongside our amazing partner, Novo Nordisk, we ran and walked to showcase the value of physical exercise and how we are inspiring, educating and empowering everyone affected by diabetes. Together, we are improving the health of the world and creating the next generation of heroes for the diabetes community.”

The virtual event featured a multitude of interactive experiences, including training plans, a selfie station, and social media integration. Race organizers debuted new technology through their RunnerTag integration, which allowed participants to submit images complete with medals and finish line stickers. Nearly 3,000 photos were submitted by the 5K@ADA Community.

“A big thanks to ADA’s CEO Tracey Brown for the challenge and to Novo Nordisk’s CEO Lars Fruergaard for accepting my challenge. It was an honour to compete alongside these organizations and together we are Team Novo Nordisk and 43,000 strong,” emphasized Southerland.

Physical activity, including walking, is an important tool in diabetes management, which helps people living with diabetes lead healthier lives. For the more than 122 million Americans with diabetes and prediabetes, it takes perseverance to live with and manage their health on a daily basis. The 5K@ADA Virtual Challenge brought people together across the globe to emphasize the need for increased physical activity to help prevent diabetes and diabetes complications. This event provided participants with the opportunity to raise public awareness about the importance of a healthy lifestyle in preventing and managing diabetes.

“This jersey represents exactly who I am. The most active rider is what I always try to be, it’s how I want to race, go in breakaways, fight for jerseys and wins. This is the biggest achievement of my career to date and I’m happy to finish the Tour de Pologne on this high note,” Planet said. “It’s been an amazing week from day one in Krakow followed by three more stages in the breakaway. I hope I inspired all the people with diabetes here in Poland and around the world.”

The 25-year-old Frenchman seized the lead in the blue jersey competition after Stage 2 by going in the breakaway for the second consecutive day and successfully defended it through the final stage in the Tatra Mountains. It is the most significant achievement in his six-year professional career.

Planet, who also wore the pink King of the Mountains jersey for five stages, showed his fighting spirit from day one and featured in four breakaways during the seven-stage Polish race.

On Friday’s final stage, the parcours included five Category 1 climbs and over 3,500 meters of climbing. Team Novo Nordisk had one goal: support Planet in standing on top of the podium as the race's most active rider.

The stage was won by Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) who was part of an early breakaway of 14-riders and launched a fierce attack in the closing 30km to claim a solo victory.Pavel Sivakov (Team Ineos) took the overall race victory.

Planet dedicated this unprecedented achievement to his team, teammates and the entire diabetes community and also to the Lotto-Soudal rider Bjorg Lambrecht who died tragically after a fatal crash on Stage 3.

“I’m so happy for my team and proud of my teammates who helped me a lot. These last two stages were really tough after the crash and we managed together as a team,” Planet described. “This jersey is also for Bjorg [Lambrecht]. He was in my head and my heart the last few days. It is for him, his family, and for all of Lotto-Soudal.”

In addition to winning the blue jersey, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team made headlines when Andrea Peron (ITA) took eighth place on Stage 3. The 30-year-old matched the team’s previous best result in a World Tour race—eighth place in the final stage at this year’s Tour of California.

“My plan was to be in the breakaway because there were two intermediate sprints for the blue jersey and I will fight for this jersey until the end of the race,” said Planet. “Once in the break, I had to make a decision: fight for the blue jersey or the King of the Mountains jersey. Knowing the next two stages are really hard, I focused on the Most Active Rider jersey instead of trying for two jerseys and risk losing everything. I’m really happy I could take one sprint and increase my lead in this classification.”

For the fourth time in five days, and despite injuries sustained in a crash on Stage 3, the Frenchman showed his fighting spirit by going all-in for the breakaway. After a flurry of attacks, Szymon Rekita (Polish National Team) and Kamil Gradek (CCC Pro Team) opened a gap of over 30 seconds on the peloton. Planet jumped from the main field and successfully bridged across to the duo.

The trio was later joined by Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal) and the day’s breakaway was formed. Knowing that he would inevitably relinquish the King of the Mountains jersey over the coming climbing stages, the 25-year-old Planet made the tactical decision not to contest the KOM’s up for offer and focus his energy on the intermediate sprints to extend his lead in the blue jersey competition.

The quartet worked hard to open up a four-minute lead, but the peloton wasn’t keen on letting the advantage expand farther and brought it down to under two minutes with 100 kilometers to go.

After the two categorized 2 climbs, Planet successfully took the first intermediate sprint. A sudden increase of tempo in the bunch reeled in the escapees on the final Cat 1 climb, approximately 40 km from the finish.

As the race approached the finishing circuit in Bielsko—Biała, new attacks were launched off the front of the field but ultimately brought back before sprint finish that saw Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton- SCOTT) take his second stage win at the 76th edition of Tour de Pologne.

The world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team takes on the first of two decisive climbing stages at the Tour de Pologne starting Thursday with a 160-km stage featuring seven Cat 1 and begins in Zakopane and finishes in Kościelisko. 

“It’s incredible to have two jerseys at a World Tour race. Yesterday it was nice for the team to have the KOM jersey but now to get a second one and sit second overall, I have no words,” Planet described. “I’m just proud for me, my team, and all the people affected by diabetes.”

Taking the start in Tarnowskie Góry, the 25-year-old Planet had his mindset on defending his KOM jersey and was quick on the attack as the flag dropped. Once again, Planet enjoyed the company of a rider from the Polish National Team, this time it was Paweł Franczak who flew the flag for the home nation at the front of the race.

The duo quickly earned a 3-minute advantage on the peloton and worked well together with Franczak taking the first intermediate sprint. Despite the previous day’s effort, Planet took both the KOM’s and scored maximum points in the second intermediate sprint to take the lead in the Blue Jersey competition.

As the race entered the first of three final 19-km laps in Katowice, the sprinter’s teams quickly went into action and Planet and his breakaway companion were reeled in with less than 15 km to go.

“It was a super nice effort in the breakaway. I recovered well last night and had super legs,” Planet said. “I had one main goal today, and that was to keep my KOM jersey while seeing the intermediate sprint jersey was available. It couldn’t have gone any better.”

Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton - Scott) sealed the stage victory after a hectic bunch sprint finale that saw Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) take second place and the yellow jersey and Stage 1 winner Pascal Ackermann (BORA -hansgrohe) settle for third.

Planet finished in the main group and narrowly missed out on taking the overall race lead and the yellow jersey. Team Novo Nordisk’s breakaway specialist sits second in the general classification, one second behind Ackermann.

The Tour de Pologne continues Monday with a flat 155.5-km stage from Silesian Stadium in Chorzów to Zabrze.

“It was a perfect day, an amazing start for us and I’m really happy,” Planet said. “This is a World Tour race, and this is the King of the Mountains jersey. I will give my all to defend it and will fight until I don’t have legs left!”

The short and relatively flat opening stage started and finished in Kraków, and Team Novo Nordisk was committed to animate the race and show the #ChangingDiabetes jersey at the front.

Frenchman Charles Planet attacked from the gun and two riders followed from the Polish National Team, The trio received the green light from the peloton and successfully opened a three-minute gap. With the King of the Mountains and Sprint jerseys up for grabs, Planet set his sights on guaranteeing a podium at the end of the day, and the 25-year-old Frenchman did not disappoint.

“When it’s a sprint finish, I don’t enjoy staying in the peloton, so I try my hardest to go in the breakaway. I took a lot of risks in the first few corners and saw a gap along with two Polish riders,” Planet said. “They had numbers, so I was concerned they would play that card in the fight for the jersey. Soon, I saw I was the strongest and felt confident.”

Planet took the KOM at the top of the Cat-4 Lanckorona climb and soon doubled his tally with the Witanowice KOM with 56 km to go. With the King of Mountains jersey secured, Planet stamped his authority on the last climb in Kaszów making it a clean sweep before getting caught by the peloton inside the final 15 km.

Team Novo Nordisk’s Italian fast man Andrea Peron was the squad’s best-positioned sprinter as the peloton took on the first of four finishing laps in downtown Kraków.

A crash in a corner with 3.5 km to go split the group and Peron was left with ground to make up. Peron dug deep but settled for 27th position while Pascal Ackermann (BORA - hansgrohe) outsprinted the competition to take the stage win. Planet finished in the peloton and sits in fourth position overall.

On Sunday, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team will continue to show what’s possible with diabetes on Stage 2 at the Tour de Pologne, another flat stage that will start in Tarnowskie Góry and finish in Katowice over 152.7 km.

“When you race against the best in the sport, you need the top, most reliable equipment. Colnago is one of the most respected bike brands in the world, which they achieved through their outstanding quality and lengthy winning history,” said Team Novo Nordisk General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “We use the Concept and C64 both built to withstand the demands of the hardest races. You can fully trust these bikes on any terrain thanks to their high-quality carbon fiber and cutting-edge aero design. This makes a bike that’s stiff, light and phenomenally responsive. Thanks Maestro Colnago for letting us use the most desirable bikes in the world for the coming years.”

Team Novo Nordisk’s men’s professional team currently races on Colnago’s C64 and Concept bikes on the road and the K-Zero during time trials. For the 2020 season, the team will transition exclusively over to the C64s for the road.

“For more than 50 years, Colnago has been one of the most innovative brands in bike racing and with the C64, they have crafted the lightest, fastest and most comfortable bike in the pro peloton,” said Team Novo Nordisk CEO and Co-Founder Phil Southerland. “Colnago’s iconic bikes have empowered Team Novo Nordisk athletes and the more than 437 million people living with diabetes to get outside and chase their dreams, and we look forward to keep sharing our mission to inspire, educate and empower people around the world affected by diabetes. All of us at Team Novo Nordisk are honored to ride Ernesto’s bikes.”

The team has had its most successful season to date with Andrea Peron (ITA) sprinting to eighth place on Stage 7 of the Tour of California, the team’s best finish at a World Tour race in its seven-year history.

“We are proud and happy to continue working with Team Novo Nordisk,” said Ernesto Colnago, Founder of Colnago. “Since the beginning, we have been passionate to support Team Novo Nordisk and its healthy values around sport and exercise. We are eager to watch the team continue to grow and want to send the best of luck to all the riders and staff.”

Additional standouts from the 2019 season include David Lozano (ESP) taking fifth on Stage 4 of the Tour du Rwanda and going on to finish sixth overall, Charles Planet (FRA) powering to fourth in the Tour of Estonia Prologue, and Peron earning third on Stage 1, fourth on Stage 2 and eighth overall at the Tour of Estonia. Additionally, Planet wore the Intermediate Sprint Jersey four consecutive days at the UAE Tour and earned the Most Aggressive Rider jersey following a late race solo attack on the opening stage of the Tour of California. Finally, Lozano won the overall KOM jersey at the Tour of Taiyuan after wearing the jersey from Stage 2 until the end of the six-day Chinese race.

Since 1954, Colnago has been a world leader in innovative bike design. For over 65 years, Colnago has pushed the boundaries in cycling manufacturing and is known for its stiffer, faster and lighter race bikes.In 51 years of sponsorships, the first with Molteni in 1968, Colnago has worked with more than 200professional teams and more than 5,000 athletes.

The special event was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in the North Lawn Park and included keynote speakers from the United Nations, Team Novo Nordisk CEO and Co-Founder Phil Southerland, Founder of World Bicycle Day Dr. Leszek Sibilski and Team Novo Nordisk athletes Brais Dacal and Becky Furuta. The event was co-organized by Canada, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Liechtenstein and Turkmenistan.

“To be at the United Nations and work together towards a common goal is a dream come true,” said Southerland. “Exercise is the billion-dollar drug that never gets prescribed, and it’s a big step that the UN is using the bike as part of its strategy to achieve success with its Sustainable Development Goals.”

Southerland concluded the event with a call to action. He requested that the United Nations global leaders help mobilize funding so that all governments had the resources available to allow for equal access to care.

United Nations ambassadors who attended and spoke at the event included Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations on behalf of the Steering Committee of the WBD, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, Alison Smale, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, (on behalf of the Secretary General), and Juliette Mayabella Passer, Director of International Center for Transport Diplomacy, USA.

The special event will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in the North Lawn Park between 1-3pm. The event is co-organized by Canada, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Liechtenstein and Turkmenistan. The outdoor event is designed to be conducted in the casual and friendly atmosphere.

In the first hour, there will be speakers including representatives from the Secretariat of the United Nations, Ambassadors of the Member-States, and representatives of cycling community from around the world. During the second hour, there will be opportunities to invite UN officials and staff members to network with the global cycling community. This will also serve as an opportunity for media to interact with guests.

The event is by invitation only for external participants and all UN staff are welcome. Some attendees will be bringing bicycles.

Where: Montgomery College/ Rockville Campus
301 Science West

When: April 30, 9:00AM-10:30AM

Agenda:

• 9:00 Brief Welcome by Dr. Leszek Sibilski followed by student’s made video clip presentation: “#June3WorldBicycleDay”
• 9:05 Welcoming Remarks by Sasini Wickramatunga, Student Trustee of the Montgomery College Board
• 9:10 Team Novo Nordisk Video Introduction: We Are Team Novo Nordisk
• 9:15 Lecture by Phil Southerland, Team Novo Nordisk CEO and Co-Founder
• 9:30 2019 Team Novo Nordisk Race Highlights
• 9:35 Q&A with Phil Southerland
• 9:45 Documentary Presentation (Unveiling the first ever-diabetic cycling medalist of Worlds or Olympics) “For Gold Against All Odds”
• 9:55 Closing Remarks by Dr. Leszek Sibilski
• 10:00 Group photos and pictures/poster/book signing
• 10:30 End

Additionally, riders and management will be available for individual interviews.

Confirm your attendance and any rider(s) or member(s) of the management you'd like to speak to by sending an email to press@teamnovonordisk.com.

Thea--who was diagnosed with diabetes at age four-- met Team Novo Nordisk at the PostNord Danmark Rundt back in 2014 and has closely followed the team since. After receiving a thoughtful message from Thea’s sister back in May, Team Novo Nordisk helped Thea ring in her 13^th birthday with a special video message to encourage her to keep chasing her dreams while living with type 1 diabetes.

“For Thea, Team Novo Nordisk is family; it is her family with diabetes. The impact you’ve had on her and our whole family is fantastic,” Thea’s mother Laura said. “This relationship between the riders and Thea combined with the fact that they all have diabetes means so much to her. It lets her know that she isn’t alone and everything is possible. These riders are so successful and the fact they took the time to share this moment with her right before the start of such a big stage is absolutely incredible.”

Every year Thea’ parents and sister Emma travel to cheer on the team during the race. Additionally, Thea runs a fan profile on Instagram dedicated to the team. In its first “Pro Cyclist for a Day”, Team Novo Nordisk wanted to say thank you to Thea for her years of dedication.

“Today was such a special surprise and I’m so happy. This whole team gives me so much inspiration to keep chasing my dreams,” said Thea.

As Pro Cyclist for a Day, Guldager received a team kit, gloves, socks, hat, feed bag, rider cards and autographed team photo.

Team Novo Nordisk encourages everyone to connect with the team via social media to be considered for a future “Pro Cyclist for a Day.” Additionally, Team Novo Nordisk will wrap up the PostNord Danmark Rundt with a meet n’greet at the team bus at the start of the final stage in Faxe on Sunday.

Everyone is welcome. Please go to https://www.facebook.com/events/2086625741577367/ for more information.

All images are ©RENE VIGNERON © rscp-photo.eu

Please see below for excerpts from Southerland's speech honoring the event and the value of the bike:

"At 12 years old, I found the bike. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was only seven months old and was told I would be dead or blind by 25. 

I started riding so I could eat Snickers bars. Because I had access to insulin, testing supplies and a bike, I didn’t just live life with diabetes, but I thrived with diabetes. The bike served as an equally powerful drug, and I believe everyone should have access to a bike.

I believe the bike not only helps prevent type 2 diabetes, but helps type 1, and more importantly can help every person on the planet to live the best and the healthiest life possible.

The message of hope, inspiration, and empowerment must be shared with all. No matter where you are in the world, you need to believe you can achieve your dreams, and there is no better place than the bike for those dreams to begin.

I thank the bike for bringing me to the UN. I am grateful that the bike has brought me to you, and my hope is that together we can help the world. Everyone can use the bike as a tool and ride for life. This means prevention, but also an inspiration to dream. I hope that the UN Resolution for World Bicycle Day ensures every person in every corner of the world has access to a bike, thus a chance to live healthily and to dream.

Finally, it is my dream because of World Bicycle Day that you will see every person with diabetes in your countries as a work capable and powerful member of society. Diabetes only chooses the champions, and I urge you to invest in our lives with insulin and testing supplies. Your return will be heroes and role models for the rest of society."