Team Novo Nordisk with zero tolerance for doping

Team Novo Nordisk has announced that they will set up a zero-tolerance doping policy. Those convicted of doping will not find a place on the team, explained the sponsoring company's management, and the team will concentrate on providing hope and inspiration to diabetics.

Novo Nordisk is the new sponsor, as of 2013, for Team Type I. All 17 riders under contract for the Professional Continental team for the coming year are diabetics. The new sponsor is  a Danish pharmaceutical company with a particular focus on diabetes care equipment and medication.

"We don't  want riders who have ever been convicted of doping, and there will be immediate consequences, if one uses illegal means,” Jacob Riis, senior vice president at Novo Nordisk, told the Ritzau news agency. “Otherwise, we rely on the initiatives taken by the international cycling union UCI has begun. Our main focus is to be an inspiration for people with diabetes.”

One irony that the team faces is the use of insulin. “Insulin can't be used by athletes who do not have a diagnosis of diabetes. But for the riders we have on the team, insulin is vital. Not just to be able to compete at this level, but also to live at all,” Riis said.