Following on from an interview last month with Team Novo Nordisk’s Martijn Verschoor, CyclingQuotes are following the Dutchman from the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team very closely. He has written a blog for CyclingQuotes about his participation as part of Team Novo Nordisk’s second appearance at Milan-San Remo.

Martijn first rode La Primavera in 2012 with a previous incarnation of Team Novo Nordisk: Team Type 1. He failed to finish that day and has vowed to finish this race in his career. Last season, he was due to start for Team Novo Nordisk but had to pull out on the morning of the race due to a crash from the previous week’s Ronde van Drenthe. Now Martijn takes you through his build up to the race in his blog.

Pre-Race

Looking at the Monuments, this is the biggest race. When I go training around here, every day it is full of cyclists trying to relive this race. Everyone in the world knows this race. 

It will be important for me to finish this year. This is a Monument and this year the weather will be great.

As for the team, I think a breakaway is what we need to aim for. This race is hard; it is really hard. The best riders start here, the strongest riders. It is history here. Italy knows how to make cycling romantic and that’s what makes this race so special.

The one thing I know for sure about Milan-San Remo, when you aren’t riding together, you are all riding in last position. Without a team effort, you aren’t able to go in the front. This race is all about teamwork. 

Before this season, the riders looked to Javi (Megias) and I for advice. We might be some of the older riders on the team, but at this point, our roster for this race has experience. They know what they are doing.

Heading into the race, it was easy training to recover from Drenthe for Milan-San Remo. I came down here right after Drenthe and then have done easy training all together with my teammates this week leading into Milan-San Remo.

My training, prep and everything are different from last year. This year is better because last year I was injured and ended up having to pull out right before the start due to a bad crash I had at Drenthe.

My form is okay but the results aren’t there yet this season. We haven’t gotten a break. We need luck. Every race we have either had terrible weather, mechanical issues, something. Always something. We are ready to catch a bit of a break.

Martijn and his teammates had a tough day in the saddle, but Martijn was determined to finish and did so, in 153rd place. Team Novo Nordisk had a great race, putting Andrea Peron in the break and David Lozano managed to finish within the top 100. Here is what Martijn had to say after he had achieved his goal:

Post-Race

Everything was better than last year because I got to start this year. Last year, I had to pull out right before the start because of a lingering crash from Drenthe the weekend before. This year, there was good weather and throughout the beginning and middle of the race, we were all together and racing towards the front. As a team, we raced better.

When the little climbs started, Javi (Megias) crashed and we had some bad luck. It's okay, it's important that I finished. Last time I raced here, the course was different and it had a different climb. That is where I pulled out, so it made a difference getting to the finish line.

I’m happy I finished but I’m also really happy that we had Andrea (Peron) in the break. We almost got two riders in the break, but one is good. Getting a rider into the break at Milan-San Remo is huge, especially for a team like ours where visibility is so important. 

My favorite part of the day was when we got Andrea in the break. We rode together from the start. Then my next favorite part is when I finished. The team did a good job today.

I think the toughest part for me was staying focused all day. From the beginning, but especially towards the end, all riders wanted to fight for position and that's why there were so many crashes. It made things chaotic and crazy towards the end.

Now that I Milan-San Remo is finished, I’m focusing on the next parts of my season. This year, I’m really focused on earning some podiums and really going for results.

CyclingQuotes would like to thank Martijn Verschoor and Team Novo Nordisk for taking time out of his busy schedule at Milan-San Remo to write this blog for us and we wish him and his team all the best for the rest of the season.