"Eighth place overall exceeds my expectations": Jorgen Nordhagen stuns the favorites with a brilliant climbing performance in the UAE

The step up to the WorldTour level can be a massive shock for young cyclists, but Jorgen Nordhagen is already proving he belongs with the elite. The 21-year-old Norwegian from Team Visma | Lease a Bike delivered a highly impressive ride on the famous slopes of Jebel Hafeet, fighting against some of the biggest names in the sport to secure a top result in the UAE Tour.

The sixth stage of the race was 168 kilometers long, and the most important part of the day was the finish at the top of Jebel Hafeet, a difficult ten-kilometer climb with an average steepness of 7.2 percent.

With about five kilometers left to the top, the top overall favorites started to attack each other. Felix Gall and Harold Tejada made a move, which was quickly answered by Isaac Del Toro and Antonio Tiberi. Del Toro eventually rode away alone to win the stage and take the overall race lead.

Behind the Mexican winner, Nordhagen crossed the finish line in sixth place, just over half a minute behind Del Toro. "I am extremely satisfied with this performance," Nordhagen said after the stage in an official statement shared by the team. "It was my first time climbing Jebel Hafeet, so I stayed a bit conservative at the start. From the foot, the pace was very high, but I felt that I had good legs today."

Instead of trying to follow the fastest attacks and risking a collapse, the young Norwegian chose a steady rhythm. "I couldn’t respond to Del Toro’s accelerations, so I decided to ride at my own pace. In the end, that proved to be the right decision to finish in the top ten again."

Thanks to this great result, Nordhagen moved up to eighth place in the overall standings with just one stage remaining in the Middle East. "I didn’t dare to hope that I would finish in the top ten here," the young rider admitted honestly. "I don’t have much experience at this level yet, so I’m happy that I was able to show myself among all these big names."

He feels that his hard work during the off-season has paid off perfectly. "Over the winter, I already noticed that I had taken another step forward, so it’s great to see that reflected in the results. Eighth place overall exceeds my expectations, so I want to thank my team for their support today."