December 21, 2016 – Calgary’s Reid McClure will be jumping into the professional ranks with Pro Continental Team Novo Nordisk in 2017. The 21-year-old was an Alpine skier, however began mountain biking at the age of 15 following a severe accident. By the age of 17, McClure had switched to the road and attended a Team Novo Nordisk Talent ID Camp. McClure has been riding with the Novo Nordisk Development squad, competing in races in Canada, the United States and in Europe.

In 2016 with the squad he won the Tennessee State Road Race Championship and was runner-up on Stage 4 of the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix and the Foothills Cup Road Race (all 2016) and was invited to join Team Novo Nordisk’s pro team for the 2017 season.

“It’s an honour to race as part of the professional peloton and inspire more people around the world affected by diabetes,” said McClure. “It wasn’t until I found out about Team Novo Nordisk that I thought it was possible to become a professional athlete.”

Formally Team Type 1, Team Novo Nordisk is a professional team entirely comprised of riders with type 1 diabetes. The program is focused on the identifying and development of athletes from around the world with diabetes. McClure was diagnosed at the age of three. This coming year will be the team’s fifth season with a roster of 19 athletes from eight countries. McClure is one of six new riders joining the professional team next year. In 2017 Team Novo Nordisk will race in its first World Tour stage race, the Tour de Pologne – read the full press release below – interview w/McLure to follow.

Six New Riders Added to Team Novo Nordisk Roster for 5th Season

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team, will race its fifth season with an expanded roster of 19 athletes from eight countries. Six new riders, including stagiaires Quentin Valognes (FRA) and Rik van IJzendoorn (NED), both who raced with the men’s professional team since August, are part of Team Novo Nordisk’s 2017 roster.

“Team Novo Nordisk is ready to take on its fifth season with our largest squad to date. We’re all excited to see what these talented athletes, especially the five riders coming up from our development squad, can accomplish in 2017,” Team Novo Nordisk CEO and co-founder Phil Southerland said. “In 2016, we earned more top five results than any season, and we are eager to keep building on these results to inspire, educate and empower everyone around the world affected by diabetes.”

In order to become a member of Team Novo Nordisk, all athletes must have type 1 diabetes. Since its launch in December 2012, the organization has focused heavily on identifying and developing endurance athletes from around the world with diabetes, building junior and development squads currently totaling 30 athletes.

Five of Team Novo Nordisk’s six new athletes are products of its development program. Fabio Calabria (AUS), Reid McClure (CAN), Umberto Poli (ITA), Valognes and van IJzendoorn all spent at least one season racing on the development squad; Valognes has been with Team Novo Nordisk since its inception in 2013.

Newcomer Romain Gioux (FRA) approached the team after racing as an amateur for French team’s Cycliste de Varennes-Vauzelles and Vélo Sport Chartrain. In late 2016, Gioux was asked to race with the team’s development squad at the East Bohémia Tour. His performance there earned him a contract for the 2017 season.

“We have spent four years nurturing our development program and it is rewarding to move five devo riders up to our pro squad. Each of these riders adds depth to our team, and we are excited to witness their years with our development team turn into results within the pro ranks,” Team Novo Nordisk Senior Vice President of Athletics Vassili Davidenko said. “We strengthened our men’s pro team with these new riders and added new staff. We believe these changes will lead to more results.”

This season, the Team Novo Nordisk men’s professional squad competed in its first World Tour stage race, Tour de Pologne. Across 43 races in 23 countries, Team Novo Nordisk earned its best overall result to date when Javier Megias (ESP) finished second overall at the Tour of Korea. The Spaniard went on to earn the team its best finish at a UCI 2.HC race when he took 14^th overall at the Tour of California. Other highlights of the season include Martijn Verschoor (NED) sprinting to fifth on Stage 1 of the Tour of California and the team winning its first team classification at the Tour of Estonia. As of November 16, 2016, the team has amassed a total of nine top five finishes, the most in its four-year history.

The full 2017 roster includes:

Andrea Peron – ITA
Brian Kamstra – NED
Charles Planet – FRA
Chris Williams – AUS
Corentin Cherhal – FRA
Fabio Calabria – AUS
Gerd de Keijzer – NED
James Glasspool – AUS
Javier Megias – ESP
Joonas Henttala – FIN
Martijn Verschoor – NED
Mehdi Benhamouda – FRA
Quentin Valognes – FRA
Reid McClure – CAN
Rik van IJzendoorn – NED
Romain Gioux – FRA
Stephen Clancy – IRL
Umberto Poli – ITA