MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Passion, commitment and participation. These are three elements that distinguish Team Novo Nordisk, first and only team in the world of professional cyclists with type 1 diabetes that this year – after 5 years of absence – returns to measure with the history of cycling by participating in Milan-Sanremo. A team of 7 athletes, including 4 Italians, Andrea Peron, Umberto Poli, Filippo Ridolfo and Antonio Polga, along with Hamish Armitt, Sam Brand and David Lozano. The American team was in fact chosen as one of the four prestigious wild cards for the 117th edition of the “Classicissima”, the race Monument starting on Saturday 21 March, from Pavia: a challenge of 298 km that will end as from tradition in the heart of Sanremo. The presence of Team Novo Nordisk on a stage of such prestige which, moreover, this year falls in coincidence with the National Day of the Movement for Health, gives the event a meaning that goes beyond the agonistic dimension.
Born from a simple but powerful idea – joining athletes who live with type 1 diabetes – the project shows that living with diabetes can mean being active, ambitious and full of potential. Through the strength of sport, science and real life stories, this partnership is demonstrating that diabetes does not define who you are, but it can be the engine to inspire a healthy lifestyle and a long-term health change. In Italy there has been a constant increase in chronic diseases in recent years, so that today about 40% of the population, i.e. 24 million people, lives with at least one chronic disease and 20% with two or more. 1 In particular, diabetes affects almost 4 million people, to which about 1.5 million people must be added that they do not know they have it. Equally, obesity, recognized as chronic disease last year, concerns about 11% of adults and sees Italy among European countries with the highest prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity.
“Managing a chronic disease today means going beyond the simple health aspect, including prevention, lifestyles and empowerment of people. In this integrated approach, sport and movement become central instruments for public health, because they help build well-being over time and reduce the weight of chronicities,” commented Gian Marco Centinaio, Vice President of the Senate of the Republic. “I am happy that Team Novo Nordisk will be able to participate this year in Milan-Sanremo, because it means bringing such a great audience a message of hope and conveying the importance of prevention – said Novo Nordisk stands for innovation in the treatment of chronic diseases, as sport corresponds to an active and healthy life. The meeting between these two realities is the best way to witness the value of modern treatments and technologies, prevention and correct lifestyles for all citizens and, even more, for those who live with a chronic pathology.”.
In video connection with the press conference of presentation of the team, the president of Regione Lombardia has emphasized the fact that “in occasion of the 117th edition of Milan-Sanremo, the commitment of Novo Nordisk gives the race a dimension that goes beyond sport. Your passion and sacrifice is a positive warning for people who live with these diseases.”.
“Today’s is a very strong message: a networked work to try to raise awareness of the community, families and especially young people, so future generations, to be increasingly aware that the correct lifestyle also determines a health, a well-being not only physical, but also cognitive, psychological, a 360° well-being also for the future,” said Elena Lucchini, Family Councillor, Social Solidarity, Disability and Equal Opportunities of the Lombardy Region. “Unfortunately the numbers tell us that society is continuing to have changes with a huge number of people suffering from chronic diseases, so today it poses questions also as public institutions. We have to work more and more to raise awareness of families entering schools, talking to parents and especially with young people – he added – Today’s message that we give through sports and a very important day like tomorrow’s sport is the wellness centre to spread the culture of proper lifestyle, not only as a power, but also as a movement and as a sport”.
By doing a parallelism with the recent Milan-Cortina 2026 paralympics, Lucchini stressed that “when there are passion, enthusiasm, determination and awareness, one can achieve important goals. Paralympics were a beautiful message that we launched to the whole world and was very important because it entered through communication and printing directly in the homes of Italian families and around the world”.
The Novo Nordisk Team, through the stories of its athletes and their sports companies, wants to offer a concrete testimony to people with diabetes and chronic diseases of how thanks to prevention, continuity of management and responsibility of the individual, it is possible to live with a chronic disease without sacrificing a full and active life. Phil Southerland, CEO and Co-Founder Team Novo Nordisk, said that “cycling is one of the most difficult sports in the world. For us to be present at Milan-Sanremo, one of the monuments of cycling, as a team of diabetics, is proof that if you dream of having diabetes you can get anything. This race is tough and we are competing here against the best in the world having diabetes. We want to inspire every child, every person with diabetes or obesity at home, to know that if they have a dream and work for that dream, they can realize it.” “Through cycling, healthy lifestyle and daily discipline, we show that a diagnosis of diabetes does not limit ambition or potential. Gareggiando on one of the most important stages of cycling, we aim to break down the stigma that often surrounds chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, and inspire people around the world to believe in their goals, remain active and redefine what is possible,” he concluded.
“Cronic diseases today cause about 70-75% of deaths in Europe: they are no longer an individual problem, but a global challenge concerning our health systems, society and the economy,” said Jens Pii Olesen, General Manager Novo Nordisk Italia, specifying that “when we talk about obesity, in particular, concerns the increase already in evolutionary age: 2.2 million children and adolescents between 3 and 17 years live with excess weight and obesity, and many of these conditions persist in adulthood, compromising the future of entire generations.” “The Novo Nordisk Team is an example of how we should all live our lives. The team cycling every day is the example of what we should all do: we should move every single day, but they could not be professional athletes without eating healthy. And if we do not learn how to eat like them, this crisis will affect Italy in a massive way. We have to go back to some old habits: moving more and eating healthy, and Team Novo Nordisk and the whole event are a fantastic example,” he concluded.
– Photo xh7/Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
