Introducing Hakon Oksnes, a promising Norwegian talent who entered Visma's renowned program at just 16 years old

Visma, originally a Norwegian company, certainly holds all the cards to sell its home country on the future of the sponsorship with Visma | Lease a Bike. After the departure of former world time trial champion Tobias Foss, Per Strand Hagenes and Johannes Staune-Mittet are on the verge of their final breakthrough, while further plans are being made with, among others, Jorgen Nordhagen (who has a contract until 2027) and also Hakon Eiksund Oksnes. IDLProCycling.com spoke with the latter!

Oksnes, born on January 27, 2007, has been riding for JEGG-De Jonge Renner Academy since January 1, 2024, which has a partnership with Visma | Lease a Bike. "Through this collaboration, we want to follow the development of talented riders more closely and starting from an earlier stage," said Robbert de Groot, Head of Development, upon announcing that partnership. "We provide knowledge, materials and a network, JEGG-De Jonge Renner Academy provides an existing structure full of experience and an international competition program. By extending our feelers in the junior peloton in this way, we can ultimately make better decisions about riders we want to include in our Development or WorldTour team," said De Groot.

"We have a large scouting network, including in Norway. Hakon was mentioned at a very young age, and we believe he has great potential. We have looked at his tests and spoken to many people around him, so it was a very easy decision to bring him on the team," De Groot previously told TV2 about the talented cyclist.

The now 17-year-old Norwegian is therefore part of the first generation of riders that will benefit from this initiative. That is not a surprise, given his background with NGT Lillehammer coach Even Røed. He previously coached Foss, Staune-Mittet and Nordhagen. "Those riders played no role in my move to De Jonge Renner, although I do go to the same school as Jorgen and as a result I keep in touch with him. But I do know that my coach was in touch with Robbert de Groot and was able to help me onto this team. So, that's the biggest factor," Oksnes explained to us after his arrival in Paris-Roubaix.

"I am very happy with the team, and it's nice to work here. I get the necessary experience, but can also be competitive," said the Scandinavian, who is also advised by the management agency of Alec Carera, which represents Tadej Pogacar, Jasper Philipsen, and junior world champion Albert Withen Philipsen, among others. "There aren't too many differences between the Norwegian and Dutch culture. There are many Dutch guys, but they are all nice and have also welcomed me warmly," said Oksnes.

Oksnes is still figuring out what specific type of rider he wants to become

Of course, there is no certainty that we will see him racing in the Visma | Lease a Bike jersey in a few years, but for such a young rider, that is of course a beautiful goal to aspire to. "The team has already proven that they handle young talents very well. I would love to ride for Visma | Lease a Bike in a few years time, of course. I'll keep working hard for that, and it would already be a dream come true to ride in the WorldTour. It's my goal," says the friendly Norwegian, who is still discovering where his strengths lie. "I'm not exactly sure what type of rider I am, but if I had to say now, I think I'm a classic type with punch. Although I can also climb reasonably well."

After previously finishing fifth in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Oksnes also started with ambition in the Paris-Roubaix for juniors, won by the Slovenian Jakob Omrzel, but he did not get beyond 35th place. "It wasn't a good race for me, or at least I should say: I didn't ride perfectly," he observed afterward. "I was a bit scared during the positioning after the start, so I quickly ended up behind a crash. Because of that, I had to exert some effort in the background."

"On the first cobbled section, I was okay, but not good enough. After each section, I was actually too far back, and therefore, I had to overtake quite a few riders to catch up. As a result, I was actually chasing the race. At Mons en Pévèle, my legs ultimately gave up, but I was able to enjoy it," he openly shared with a smile that didn't leave his face. "The atmosphere on the cobbled sections was really amazing, and it's one of the most enjoyable races I've ever done. My legs were bad, but it was cool. I'm very happy that I made it to the crazy velodrome."

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