Andreas Schlütter couldn't believe his eyes when he saw this last year in Planica. What superiority, what power, what technique. Schlütter, sports director for cross-country skiing at the German Ski Association (DSV), witnessed how Jörgen Nordhagen glided to the world championship title in the junior class (U20) almost exactly a year ago. In the freestyle mass start race over 20 kilometres, the then 19-year-old finished more than two minutes ahead of the field. Even in the cross-country skiing nation of Norway, something like this has rarely been seen, the TV commentator was thrilled and the coaches of the best cross-country skiing nation in the world were also impressed by the talent of the young world champion.
A talent like Vingegaard?
Schlütter is not the only one who is a little stunned that this talent has already ended his career in Nordic skiing with his performance in Planica. Nordhagen, who lives in Lillehammer, has decided to pursue a career as a professional cyclist. And that will really begin in 2025. "I see my biggest goals in cycling. It feels like the right decision. I'm really happy that I was able to round off my career in skiing with the World Championship title. It's always possible to come back," said Nordhagen after switching disciplines last year.
And it is not only in Norway that he has already been compared - somewhat prematurely, no doubt - to two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard. From this season, he will be riding together with the 28-year-old Dane in the Dutch team Visma | Lease Bike in the World Tour for the first time. And there are quite a few people in cycling who believe that the now 20-year-old, son of ex-pro Finn Vegard Nordhagen, has a great future on two wheels. It is no coincidence that a top racing team has signed the all-round talent - but they want to build him up carefully. So far in the junior team, in future with a full professional contract in the elite class. The sports director there, Grischa Niermann, told the Norwegian newspaper VG that Nordhagen is further along in his development as a cyclist than Jonas Vingegaard was at the same age. But he still has a long way to go to reach the absolute top of world cycling. Niermann sees the young Norwegian on a different career path to the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who won the Clásica San Sebastian in his first season as a professional at the age of 19. He believes that the new pro should take more time on the road to success. Nordhagen has proven his talent in the junior classes: He was runner-up in the European Junior Championships in the road race (2022) and individual time trial (2023), has won several junior tours and was third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23.
Careful construction
The racing team has no shortage of riders, as Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, Simon Yates and Sepp Kuss have all achieved good results in the difficult tours. But the young Norwegian is pushing on: Nordhagen delivered his first big test of talent at last year's Deutschland Tour, when he rode aggressively in his first professional outing and took numerous victories in mountain classifications - not bad for his first appearance in the jersey of the World Tour team, which offered him the start in Germany last year as a kind of taster internship at elite level. The testimonial was good: Overall seventh place and winner of the Dotted Jersey for the best climber - that was the result. He already had a three-year contract for the World Tour in his pocket
Successful taster internship at the D-Tour
"I'm happy to be here," Nordhagen told TOUR in the stage town of Heilbronn. At the same time, he could have been the top favourite for the Tour de l'Avenir, the Tour de France in the U23 category. But the Norwegian federation, which currently seems to have an almost inexhaustible reservoir of talent not only in cross-country skiing but also in cycling, surprisingly did not send a federation team to the start. The official reason: There was no money. In fact, the federation has been in dire straits for years, and sponsor Uno-X has helped out financially and with personnel from time to time. Not this time. Uno-X is also the sponsor of the only Norwegian professional team and a competitor of Visma | Lease a Bike in the battle for top Scandinavian talent.
Norway is looking for a Tour winner
The ski association's coaches told Norwegian media that they had indeed held talks with the renegade high-flyer. Nordhagen tells TOUR differently, saying that nobody tried to convince him to stay in winter sports. "It was probably quite clear that I would switch to cycling. They have so many cross-country skiers. If I don't win, the next Norwegian will win" - that's how the man himself sees it. It sounds modest. Norwegian cross-country skiing expert Torgeir Bjørn told the newspaper VG: "Physically, at the age he is now, he is at the level of Bjørn Dæhlie. It's a great loss for cross-country skiing and a great victory for cycling." The Norwegian Daehlie was one of the best cross-country skiers in history. For Schlütter, the change of discipline is a shame, but understandable - at least with regard to the prospects of German cross-country skiers. According to Schlütter, job offers with the federal police, customs or the armed forces simply cannot compete financially with the salaries of professional cyclists in the World Tour.
With a body weight of 58 kilograms and a height of 1.77 metres, Nordhagen has the ideal dimensions for a contender for a top position in very difficult, multi-week tours. Especially as, despite his thin legs, he is quite good in the battle against the clock. And from a Norwegian's point of view, you could say that there are as many Norwegian cross-country world champions as there is snow in the Norwegian winter. Norway has never had a winner at the Tour de France. That is also a special incentive.
Career start at the Strade Bianche
Instead of skating for world championship placings in the snow in Trondheim, Nordhagen will officially start his first season as a professional on tarmac and gravel in Tuscany at the same time - according to the current plan. On 8 March, he will start at Strade Bianche, a tough race in the most important racing series of the World Tour. Previously planned season starts in Oman and the south of France had been postponed at short notice. "He crashed in Oman right before the start of the race. He has been recovering since then. If all goes well, he will be at Strade Bianche his comeback," says Visma team spokesman Thijs Roelen. So the start as a professional cyclist was painful even before the first race. It can only get better.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
