Hageland and Belgium Tour close out first half of season for Team Novo Nordisk

12 June 2025

Back-to-back Belgian races are on the horizon for Team Novo Nordisk with 20^th edition of Dwars door het Hageland up first on Saturday followed by the five-day Baloise Belgium Tour next week.

After winning the best young rider classifications at both the Loire Tour and the Tour of Estonia already this season plus a stack of top ten finishes elsewhere, Czech sprinter Matyas Kopecky is in buoyant mood and is set to lead the team once again in Belgium.

Experienced team captain Andrea Peron will provide valuable support and guidance alongside compatriots Filippo Ridolfo and Alessandro Perracchione.

“Dwars door het Hageland and the Baloise Belgium Tour are extremely important races for us,” began General Manager Vassili Davidenko. “Over recent years our young riders have continued to achieve excellent results in both events, and we are looking for more of the same starting on Saturday.”

“We’re grateful that we continue to enjoy great support in Belgium from both the diabetes community and traditional racing fans. Everyone knows the passion for cycling in this part of the world and together with the unwavering support from our title sponsor Novo Nordisk we are looking forward to inspiring and driving more change and achieving our racing goals next week!”

Blegium’s Quinten De Graeve and Manxman Sam Brand will both race in support at Hageland alongside Italian Umberto Poli and Australian Declan Irvine, fresh from more recent adventures at Unbound Gravel in the USA.

“I really enjoy both Hageland and the Belgium Tour,” said Kopecky. “The Tour of Estonia was not what we had hoped for in terms of results and that disappointment serves as additional motivation and fuel for the fire to do well in Belgium.”

“Dwars door her Hageland is an exciting race with the gravel sectors and although we did well there in 23’ the top places were still quite far away and that’s where we need to be aiming to be this time around. It’s a race where anything can happen, but I feel strong, the form is good and it will be great to end the first half of the season on a high before heading off to altitude in the Dolomites.”

Dwars door het Hageland follows the classic route over 180km with numerous off-road sectors on the gravel farm roads around Diest before the punishing final laps around the famous Citadel.

While the five-day Belgium Tour kicks off with a 200km coastal stage that finishes in Knokke-Heist ahead of a mid-race individual time trial in historic Tessenderlo and the traditional finale on Sunday in Brussels.

Team Novo Nordisk at Dwars door Het Hageland 14^th June & Baloise Belgium Tour 18^th – 22^nd June:

Sam Brand (GBR, 34) DDH ONLY

Quinten De Graeve (BEL, 24) DDH ONLY

Declan Irvine (AUS, 26)

Matyas Kopecky (CZ, 22)

Anton Muller (FR, 27)

Andrea Peron (IT, 36)

Alessandro Perracchione (IT, 20)

Umberto Poli (IT, 28)

Filippo Ridolfo (IT, 23)

Belgium Tour Stages:

Wednesday 18^th June, Stage 1: Merelbeke–Melle – Knokke-Heist, 201.2km