Team Novo Nordisk’s Martijn Verschoor sprinted to 12th place on Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California.

Sunday’s race served as the opening stage to the 10th edition of the Amgen Tour of California. The 203.1-kilometer stage began and ended in front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The flat stage is the longest of the eight-day race and attacks began straight from the gun with four riders establishing the day’s main break. The quartet built a maximum gap of 6:40 before one rider dropped back to the peloton following a mechanical issue. The remaining escapees were caught as the race hit the finishing laps around downtown Sacramento. A sprint finished ensued with Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step) sprinting to the win and into the overall leader’s jersey.

“The whole team worked really well today, especially Andrea Peron in the finish,” Verschoor said. “The final was a little difficult. The problem was that I tapped my brakes with 500 meters to go and then I quickly was passed. Twelfth is good against this caliber of sprinters, but I would have liked much better.” 

Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step) took the win ahead of runner-up Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Jempy Drucker (BMC Racing Team) in third.

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, resumes racing at the Amgen Tour of California on Monday with Stage 2. The 193.8 km stage begins in Nevada City and features one climb before a downhill finish into Lodi.