Stage 7 of the Aviva Tour of Britain began in Fakenham under steady rains. The slick roads made for a treacherous race that saw many crashes and flats and numerous riders withdrawing. All Team Novo Nordisk riders safely made it to the finish in Ipswich with Andrea Peron finishing just outside of the top 20 in 21st position.

The 227.1-kilometer stage made for the longest day at the eight-day Tour of Britain. Team Novo Nordisk rode together to stay safe and managed to avoid any of the crashes. As the race went through Norwich, there was another crash and three riders used that moment to escape.

The trio built a maximum gap of over seven minutes but as the roads began to dry, the peloton organized and reeled them back. Peron experienced his own misfortune with a flat tire as the race was chasing down the gap. After receiving a wheel from a teammate, the Italian sprinter was able to chase back on, but the effort took its toll. The Italian still finished in the front group in the same time as stage winner Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal), but he had hoped for more.

“We paid attention and raced safely to avoid any crashes throughout the day. Luckily the rain started to let up; otherwise it would have been a super long day,” Team Novo Nordisk’s Joonas Henttala said to the team website. “After missing the break, we did what we could for Andrea at the end, but he had another flat tire. He had to chase back on while the peloton was going nearly 80 kph, so he used a lot of energy to make it back and didn’t have the best legs for the finish.”

Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) won in a photo finish against Elia Viviani (Team Sky). Sondre Holst Enger (IAM Cycling) took third place.

Team Novo Nordisk finishes racing at the Aviva Tour of Britain on Sunday. The final stage is an 86.7-km race around downtown London. The riders will tackle 14 laps on a 6.2-km circuit that passes world famous sights such as Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.