Champion du monde juniors de ski de fond en février, Jorgen Nordhagen a dompté la Planche des Belles Filles pour s’imposer sur la 3e étape du Tour d’Alsace (2.2) ! Dans la devo Visma-Lease a Bike, le Norvégien (19 ans) passera avec la WorldTour en 2025.
Visma | Lease a Bike has done it again! Nordhagen (19) dominates La Planche des Belles Filles
CyclingFriday, 26 July 2024 at 22:49
Jørgen Nordhagen took control of the Tour Alsace on Friday. The 19-year-old Norwegian riding for the Visma | Lease a Bike development team broke away from the rest on La Planche des Belles Filles, seizing victory and the leader's jersey.
Nordhagen spent last winter finishing one final cross-country skiing season, and promptly became a world champion on skis, before the talented climber fully focused on his time with Visma | Lease a Bike. Last year, he signed a contract extending until the end of 2027, with the prospect of moving from the development team to the WorldTour in 2025.
Nordhagen started road racing in April and immediately reached the podium in Liège-Bastogne-Liège for U23 after just a few weeks of training. In the Giro NextGen, he had to withdraw early due to illness, making the Tour Alsace his first highly regarded stage race for U23 where we could see the Norwegian truly in top form.
Read more below the photo.
Jørgen Nordhagen at his contract signing
Nordhagen stands out on La Planche des Belles Filles
After finishing third in a punchy finale in Ferrette on day two, Nordhagen took control on Friday with an uphill finish on La Planche des Belles Filles. He ultimately left second-place Rémi Capron trailing by forty seconds, with the riders from second to twelfth all finishing within sixteen seconds of each other. In other words, Nordhagen stood head and shoulders above the rest.
In the overall standings, the top talent now wears the yellow leader's jersey, with two days to go. His lead over Capron is 52 seconds, with a hilly stage on Saturday and a flat stage on Sunday to go. The overall victory is within reach for Visma | Lease a Bike and Nordhagen in the five-day stage race. The Dutch team impressed last year in the Giro NextGen, with Johannes Staune-Mittet winning. The Norwegian has been riding in the WorldTour this season and is currently competing in the Tour of the Czech Republic.
Visma | Lease a Bike struggles in the Czech Republic
However, Friday wasn't exactly a great day for Visma | Lease a Bike across the board. In the Czech Republic, Marc Hirschi (UAE-Team Emirates) took control on a hilly finish, and the Dutch team was nowhere to be seen. "Unfortunately, we did not achieve a top result. To be honest, we certainly expected more. We aimed for a good result with Johannes and Koen (Bouwman, ed.) today. The 22nd place is obviously not what we had hoped for. We will analyze this stage and set new goals for the last two days of this race," said team leader Robert Wagner via the team's official channels. "Tactically, we were well-organized. But unfortunately, we were not strong enough to compete with the other top riders on the final climb."
More positivity at Visma | Lease a Bike after the Tour of Wallonia
In contrast to the Czech Republic, spirits were positive in the Tour of Wallonia. In the five-day stage race, the team achieved four top ten finishes, which left the team feeling very positive. This was reported on the team's website.
In the final stage, Per Strand Hagenes secured fifth place. The 21-year-old Norwegian of Team Visma | Lease a Bike held on for a long time on the Muur van Thuïn but couldn't prevent stage winner Samuel Watson from taking the victory. Watson attacked on the steep final climb and crossed the finish line solo. Hagenes finished shortly behind in fifth place.
"I have mixed feelings about today," sports director Maarten Wynants said. "We wanted to make the race hard and be with it if a group got away. In the end, sixteen men attacked and we were not among them. That was not good." In the finale, Mick van Dijke sacrificed his chances for Hagenes. "The boys did everything they could to put Per in a good situation. Per probably did the same effort as the winner, but he had to come from too far back."
According to Wynants, the past week has been a good learning experience. "Our goal was to win a stage and we didn't succeed. Still, with three top-five finishes and Per's eighth place in the queen stage, we can look back on this race with satisfaction. The guys did well, especially when you consider that we only had four riders left after Loe van Belle crashed out."
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Latest Comments
- I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024