Former top-10 finisher at Vuelta, Carl Frederik Hagen retires with no interesting offers on the table for 2025
Cycling
We won't see Carl Frederik Hagen in the professional peloton again in 2025. The 33-year-old Norwegian is ending his cycling career after not managing to find an "ideal" team for next season.
"It feels a bit strange and sad, and it is with a mix of fear and joy that I write and announce this," Hagen begins his message on Instagram. "2024 will be my last year as a professional cyclist. After twelve years as a full-time professional, I still have a lot of love for the sport. I love the sport life and staying fit. I am not tired."
"But I have certain values that are very important to me. I always told myself that if I were to continue cycling, I would have to have a good gut feeling and believe that I was in a place with good and safe people around me, where I could develop as a rider and a person. With the offers I received, I did not find a match and I did not have the right feeling. That is why I choose to say goodbye to the professional peloton and start a completely unknown future."
The absolute highlight of Hagen's career, and the one result everyone will remember, was the Norwegian's 8th place at the Vuelta a Espana in his professional debut season in 2019. Since then, Hagen never quite lived up to the expectations after this result. Although he was able to comeback from tough 2020-21 seasons, Hagen only settled down as a consistent top-25 finisher in general classifications of races who occasionally sneaked into the top-10.
As mentioned before, Hagen made a debut among pros with Lotto Dstny in 2019, after which he rode for Israel - Premier Tech and finally at Q36.5 Pro Cycling where his career comes to a wrap.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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