Team Novo Nordisk excelled in the final stage of the Tour of California when Andrea Peron and Martijn Verschoor both sprinted to top 10 places in a fast pace finish in front of the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium.

The 105-kilometer stage began with an immediate attack, as the overall classification was still up for grabs. Four riders bridged up to the escapee, but they were never given much space. As the race moved from the circuits around downtown Los Angeles to laps around the Rose Bowl Stadium, the peloton remained all together. Attack after attack flew, but Tinkoff-Saxo never allowed anyone to actually break free. Heading into the sprint finish, several Team Novo Nordisk riders were seen together determined to take on the anticipated bunch finish. Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step) sprinted to the win while Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) took third place, enough to win him the overall race. Team Novo Nordisk’s Peron sprinted to eight place with teammate Verschoor shortly behind in 10th position.

“It was Andrea, Charles (Planet) and I all together on the final laps,” Verschoor said. “We were all working really well together and it came together quite well in the final sprint. Now I just need to carry this into Norway.”

“If I had a little more space, I’m sure I could have sprinted to a top 5 finish,” Peron said. “It all felt right today. I finally got to really sprint, and Martijn and I worked perfectly together.”

Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step) took the stage win ahead of Wouter Wippert (Drapac Pro Cycling) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo)

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, returns to racing on Wednesday at the Tour of Norway. This serves as the team’s first appearance at the five-day Scandinavian race.