He himself says he is satisfied with his career. "I have the feeling that I have done and achieved a lot as a professional cyclist." There is no doubt that this is the case. After all, there are 81 victories that make him one of the most successful riders of his generation, including three at the Tour de France. And yet it sometimes seems as if this Edvald Boasson Hagen not only has to convince Norwegian television - or whoever else he is talking to - of this fact, but also himself.
There are quite a few observers who say that this super talent, who was born in Rudsbygd near Lillehammer in May 1987, could have achieved so much more. If she had chosen the right career path.
Three victories at l'Avenir put top teams on the map
The young Norwegian showed where his journey could take him even before the start of his professional career. As a junior, he became Norwegian road race and time trial champion, beating Alexander Kristoff, who was the same age, in both competitions. In 2006, Boasson Hagen switched to the continental team Maxbo-Bianchi at the age of 19, which led many Norwegian talents on their way to the top under the name Joker until 2020. His three victories at the Tour de l'Avenir that season in particular made the big teams sit up and take notice. The following year, he won the Istrian Spring Trophy and Paris-Correze stage races, became Norwegian champion in the elite time trial and beat established men like Baden Cooke in the sprint.
Even before he signed his first professional contract, Boasson Hagen had won eight victories in 2.1 races - more than the majority of the peloton had achieved in his entire career. In 2008, Boasson Hagen made the step into the professional camp. The 20-year-old signed with T-Mobile's successor Highroad. This was already finalised almost a year earlier. Boasson Hagen gets off to the same carefree start in the team, which is mainly full of talent and up-and-coming professionals, as was his trademark in the early years of his career.
World class within two years
He celebrates his first victory as a professional at the Criterium International in the individual time trial, ahead of his team-mate Tony Martin, world champion in the making, and the Swede Gustav Erik Larsson, who will win silver in the Olympic time trial in Beijing later in the year. Two and a half weeks later, he wins the GP Denain, the "little sister" of Paris-Roubaix. Later that year, he won a stage in the Tour of Benelux, followed by three in the Tour of Britain, all on slightly hilly terrain or in bunch sprints. In his first year as a professional rider, he thus achieved a total of seven victories and quickly established himself among the greats.
In 2009, the Norwegian continued on his way to the top. In the spring, Boasson Hagen finished fourth in the Strade Bianche, which was still called the Eroica at the time and had always been difficult but did not yet have the reputation it has today. A few weeks later, he won Gent-Wevelgem in the continuous rain in Belgium. While half of the peloton abandoned and the majority of those remaining crossed the finish line with a huge deficit, a 21-year-old won the follow-up to the Tour of Flanders, which is now one of the most important preparatory races for the "Ronde".
Boasson Hagen travels to his first Grand Tour with the classics victory in his luggage. At the Giro, he and his team-mates, who now ride as Team Columbia, win the team time trial right at the start. A week later, he then climbed the podium alone. As a breakaway rider in the sprint of a small group, he secured stage 7 from Innsbruck to Chiavenna over the Passo Maloja, which was only followed by a long descent. The day before, only Michele Scarponi was better than Boasson Hagen, the day after his team-mate Konstantin Sivtsov. He finished the final individual time trial in Rome just seven seconds behind winner Ignatas Konovalovas in third place.
Edvald Boasson Hagen - Prototype for Wout van Aert
Inspired by his success, Boasson Hagen simply carries on. After a break, he wins two stages of the Tour of Poland in August and comes third overall. He also secured two stage wins in the Tour of Benelux, which this time were also enough for overall victory. A week later at the Tour of Britain, he celebrates overall victory with four successes in a row. After this season at the latest, he has arrived at the top of the world.
What makes the Norwegian so impressive is his versatility. Boasson Hagen wins classics, time trials and bunch sprints. The days of Eddy Merckx are long gone. There is no equivalent in modern cycling. Peter Sagan will only present the cycling world with new, seemingly insurmountable challenges from 2012 onwards, but he can do nothing to counter Boasson Hagen's time trial qualities. In fact, one Belgian, whose star is rising at Team Jumbo-Visma in 2019, seems to be a mirror image of the blond boy who almost always has a smile on his face: Wout van Aert.
Nevertheless, it seems that Boasson Hagen will soon have to compare himself more and more frequently with Sagan, who is almost three years younger. But before the Slovakian can realise his full potential, the Norwegian shooting star's most successful period is already over. Many experts see the reasons for this in his move to Team Sky in 2010. The newly founded team has only one goal: a British winner at the Tour de France. Money plays only a subordinate role in this endeavour, and so the new big player in cycling is bringing together the best professionals it can find. This includes Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Achilles tendon causes problems
At first everything goes according to plan. Alongside captain Bradley Wiggins and his two compatriots Lars Petter Nordhaug and Kurt Asle Arvesen, he wins the team time trial of the Tour of Qatar on the very first day in his new jersey. In Oman, he secured a bunch sprint, the time trial and second place in the overall standings. Sixth place at the Omloop Het Nieusblad confirms his good legs for the classics season, which he further underpins with a stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico. But then his Achilles tendon went on strike. Inflammation caused him problems at the E3, and he had to abandon Gent-Wevelgem. The classics season is over.
At the end of May, he will return to action at the Tour of Bavaria, and at the Tour of the Dauphine his form will be good enough for another breakaway victory. Boasson Hagen will then be allowed to take part in the Tour for the first time. Because Wiggins is unable to fight for victory from the start, his helper has a free hand to ride the bunch sprints on his own account. Two third places are the result; after the break in the spring, not everything is running smoothly again.
Even after the Tour, Boasson Hagen is only able to build on his early form to a limited extent. Although he won Veenendaal-Veenendaal in the Netherlands, there were no further victories. He finished the Cyclassics in Hamburg as well as the Grand Prix de Quebec and the Chrono des Nations in second place.
Boasson Hagen comes up trumps at the Tour de France
Boasson Hagen is once again unable to prove his Classics abilities in 2011. Once again, his Achilles tendon caused problems. After a minor crash at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, a slipped cleat is said to have been the cause. Once again, it was the Tour of Bavaria where the Norwegian found his feet again. He wins the first stage and leads his team-mate Geraint Thomas to his first ever Tour victory, while Wiggins is once again only behind.
Once again, the conditions for the Tour are not ideal. But the profile of the 6th stage to Lisieux is extremely favourable for Boasson Hagen. While the top sprinters Cavendish, Petacchi and Greipel are unable to tackle the undulating course in the peloton, the 24-year-old has to prevail against the Australian Matthew Goss and his compatriot Thor Hushovd in the world champion's jersey. And he succeeded. He secures the first stage win of the Tour for himself and Team Sky. For the team, this milestone immediately faded into the background the next day after Wiggins had to abandon after a crash, but for Edvald Boasson Hagen it meant a free ride. And he makes the most of it.
Boasson Hagen and Hushovd make for a Norwegian holiday
With his offensive riding style, Boasson Hagen manages to break into several breakaway groups without any helpers, including on the 16th stage to Gap. Once again, he and Hushovd play the leading role in the finale. This time, however, the world champion relegated his nine-and-a-half year younger crown prince to second place. Nevertheless, Norway is on the rampage, as there has never been a double victory by the Scandinavians in the world's most important cycling race. In addition, the successor to the ageing Hushovd, who triggered the boom, seems to have been found. And at least in the short term, Boasson Hagen can take over from him, later to be supported by Alexander Kristoff.
But the immediate succession begins just one day later. Because on the 17th stage, Boasson Hagen goes straight back on the offensive. And this time there was no Hushovd to stop him. He crossed the finish line in Pinerolo as a soloist, 40 seconds ahead of Bauke Mollema. Other parts of the former leading group, which Boasson Hagen had left behind on the way to Sestriere, followed. Norway has now won four stages in this Tour, and Hushovd can also celebrate another stage win. While the old champion has achieved everything, the other is at the peak of his performance at the age of 24.
Boasson Hagen demoted to helper
But he can't hold on to it for long. In 2011, Boasson Hagen wins the Cyclassics in Hamburg and the Benelux Tour, but then the next Tour takes centre stage again. And this time he can't avoid the role of helper. In the spring, his results do not meet the team's expectations, so he may be relieved of some duties. Even without health problems, he is unable to make his mark on the classics season, only managing to finish in the top 15 at Gent-Wevelgem in fifth place. A stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Criterium du Dauphine are not enough to keep Wiggins from being a workhorse. When he's not riding in the wind for the captain, he sprints to the podium three times in the difficult finales, but Peter Sagan is faster every time.
Mark Cavendish also joined the team in the winter. Although he has not yet managed to cross a motorway bridge in 2012, he is almost unbeatable on the flat. Cavendish wins three stages. Wiggins and Chris Froome finish first and second in the overall standings. The British also dominate the Tour in the year of the Olympic Games in London. And Edvald Boasson Hagen is sidelined.
In 2011, the Norwegian had extended his contract until 2014 at an early stage. He doesn't say a bad word about Sky to the outside world, even at the end of his career. And he still has one more chance in 2012: World Championships in Valkenburg. He still messed up the dress rehearsal at the Amstel Gold Race, which ended like the World Championship race on the Cauberg. But in the autumn he showed his top form and was only beaten by Philippe Gilbert in the end.
There is nothing left of the child prodigy
2013 doesn't get off to a good start. Boasson Hagen doesn't get a foot on the ground in the classics, finishing no higher than ninth in the E3 Prize. He celebrates his first win of the season in mid-May in his native Norway. He once again travelled to the Tour as a helper. Cavendish has left the team after a year and Wiggins is also not at the Tour. But from now on it's all about protecting Froome. If he still has enough strength after a day in the wind, he holds on in the sprints, but only finishes second once. Behind Cavendish. To make matters worse, he crashes on stage 12 and breaks his collarbone, and the next day he doesn't compete again. After recovering from the injury, Boasson Hagen tackles the Vuelta for the first time in his career. Two second places, Gilbert and Mollema prevent the Norwegian from completing his personal Grand Tour triple. A stage win at the Dauphine, the quasi-suspended championship title in the time trial and two further victories in his home country are the only successes that the former child prodigy was able to achieve.
But that is still more than the following year. In 2014, he went winless for the first time in his career. He was not even nominated for the Tour. In August, he announced that he would not be renewing his contract with Sky. Observers say that the absolute will to win has left him in the team. The liveliness from hours of helping out in front of the peloton. The fun of the offensive riding style.
Escape to South Africa
He wants to find all of this again with the South African team MTN - Qhubeka. But it doesn't really work out that way. At least he managed to finish tenth at Milan-San Remo, his first and only time in the top 10. At the Tour des Fjords on 31 May, he celebrated his first victory for the new team and was able to reclaim both the time trial championship and the road race title, which was almost on his doorstep. At the Tour, there is a lack of support in the team. He sprinted to three fifth places, finishing fourth in Paris. In September, he secures the overall classification of the Tour of Britain without winning a stage.
A gentle upturn is noticeable. He wants to carry this over into the 2016 season. And he is actually starting the new year well, winning stages in Oman and Qatar. And even the classics no longer seem to have conspired against him. The soon-to-be 29-year-old Norwegian finishes fifth in Paris-Roubaix, arrives in the velodrome with the leading group, but then no longer has the legs. For the first time, he achieves a single-digit result in a Monument. But also for the last time. Nevertheless, there is hope that the Norwegian could regain his old strength.
A last stand by Boasson Hagen
Boasson Hagen once again becomes double national champion, which is not a matter of course in Alexander Kristoff's best years. He celebrates stage wins in his home country, wins the Dauphine again - and yet again has to line up behind Cavendish at the Tour. This is because the Brit has also been riding for Dimenson Data, as the team is now called following a change of sponsor, since 2016. One podium finish - as a breakaway rider behind Michael Matthews and Sagan on stage 10. And because Cavendish doesn't make it to Paris, Boasson Hagen is also allowed to sprint there and finishes fourth.
In 2017, Cavendish has to finish the Tour after just four days. For Boasson Hagen, who dominated the races in Norway in May, almost like in the early days, it seems to be his last chance. In the bunch sprints, he was repeatedly beaten by Matthews and Marcel Kittel. But on the 19th stage, the 30-year-old recalls his old qualities. Three kilometres before the finish, he was part of a nine-man lead group. Two of them - he and Nikias Arndt - enter a roundabout on the other side of the road, taking the shorter side and opening up a small gap. Boasson Hagen immediately picks up the pace, steps on the gas and rides away from Arndt. Sitting down, he drives the German out of his slipstream. As he crosses the finish line, he looks like he did at the start of his career. Carefree, with a smile on his face.
A quiet farewell
This is the last time Boasson Hagen will be able to celebrate on the big stage. In 2018 and 2019, he took a few more minor victories in Norway. His very last success was winning the opening stage of the Tour of the Dauphine, which even allowed him to pull on the yellow jersey again. He wins the sprint ahead of two Belgians. One of them is the man who snatched the world championship title from him in 2012. The other is the one who is so similar in style to the young Edvald Boasson Hagen: Wout van Aert.
The Norwegian will remain active for another five years, spending most of his time as a road captain in the French teams TotalEnergies - alongside Peter Sagan - and most recently Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. The final decision to end his career will be made in August 2024. "It feels good to have made a decision. There is a time for everything. I had the feeling that it was okay to stop now," he tells the media after 17 years as a professional.
"My wife" - he married airline pilot Marlen Kristiansen in 2018 and they had a daughter in 2021 - "and my family have been very supportive of me the whole time. And I could really do what I wanted. Now it will be good to be home for a while. "I'm not very sad, I'm very happy about what I've experienced." Not a trace of melancholy.
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Edvald Boasson Hagen's greatest successes
- A total of 81 victories in professional races
- 3x stage winner Tour de France (2011, 2017)
- Vice world champion 2012 on the road
- Winner Gent-Wevelgem 2009
- Winner Cyclassics Hamburg 2011
- Winner GP Ouest France - Plouay 2012
- Stage winner Giro d'Italia 2009
- 2x winner of the Benelux Tour (2009 and 2011)
- 2x winner of the Tour of Britain (2009 and 2015)
- 3x winner of the Tour of Norway (2012, 2013 and 2017)
- 5x stage winner at the Criterium du Dauphine (2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2019)
- Fifth at Paris-Roubaix 2016
- 10x Norwegian time trial champion (2007 to 2011, 2013, 2015 to 2018)
