Team Novo Nordisk visits Leicester Diabetes Centre
A team of professional cyclists all made up of people with diabetes visited the Leicester Diabetes Centre as part of a nationwide tour to raise awareness of the condition.
The ‘Pedal for 7’ challenge saw Team Novo Nordisk visit seven cities in a five-day 700km cycle during Diabetes Week, which ran from Sunday, 11 June, and runs until Saturday, June 17.
Two Team Novo Nordisk riders were joined by eight Novo Nordisk employees on the ride that began on 12 June in Leeds and finished in Gatwick at the Novo Nordisk UK offices on Friday 16 June. Cyclists from the Leicester Diabetes Centre also joined for part of the journey through Leicester.
Professor Melanie Davies CBE, Co-Director of the Leicester Diabetes Centre, Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester and Honorary Consultant Physician at Leicester’s Hospitals, said:
“The cyclists riding for Team Novo Nordisk are a fine example of how having diabetes should not hold people with the condition back from achieving their goals. At the Leicester Diabetes Centre we are working to improve knowledge, care and education through pioneering research mainly into Type 2 diabetes.
“We are also supporters and admirers of Team Novo Nordisk who are showing on a daily basis what personal dedication and hard work can achieve. This visit was especially relevant for us as the centre boasts a group of keen cyclists, proving that we practice we preach when it comes to exercise, and some of these will be joining Team Novo Nordisk on part of the journey.”
Leicester Mayor councillor Rashmikant Joshi, who attended the visit, said:
“I think it is important that this condition is highlighted and awareness is raised. I myself have Type 2 diabetes and take part in a research study at the Leicester Diabetes Centre.”
‘Pedal for 7’ aimed to encourage people living with diabetes to achieve healthy blood sugar levels of 7 per cent, in clinical terms, through good management of their condition.
As well as Leicester, other cities visited included Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Coventry, Birmingham and Oxford.
Notes to editors
For further details, to arrange an interview or more photographs, email oliver.jelley@ojpr.co.uk or call 07803 003811 or 01604 882342.
The Diabetes Research Centre is based at the Leicester Diabetes Centre.
The Leicester Diabetes Centre is an international centre of excellence in diabetes research, education and innovation and is led by Professor Melanie Davies and Professor Kamlesh Khunti.
Hosted at Leicester General Hospital, the Leicester Diabetes Centre is a partnership between the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and the University of Leicester, working with the city and county Clinical Commissioning Groups. It is a leading applied health research unit committed to improving the lives and care of people with diabetes and other long-term conditions.