“He’s a natural cycling talent! He sits beautifully on the bike” – Thor Hushovd invites Olympic skiing superstar Johannes Klaebo to test with Uno-X Mobility

Thor Hushovd has opened the door to one of the most eye-catching crossover stories in recent endurance sport, revealing that Olympic skiing icon Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has been invited to test with Uno-X Mobility once his Winter Games commitments are complete.

“I told Klaebo last year that once the Olympics were over, he should consider testing a few sessions with the Uno X team,” Hushovd explained in conversation with Velo.

The approach is not theoretical.

“I’ve ridden with him, and it’s obvious he’s a natural cycling talent,” the former world champion added. “He sits beautifully on the bike, has great control, and adapts quickly. With the engine he has, he could succeed in almost any endurance sport.”

For a cycling audience, that “engine” is not marketing language. Klæbo is not simply a decorated skier. At the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, he became the first athlete to win six gold medals at a single Winter Games, taking his career Olympic tally to 11 golds and 13 medals overall. In cross-country skiing terms, he has already conquered the sport’s biggest stage.

Hushovd has long admired that physical profile. “I’ve always said that Klaebo has an extraordinary physical capacity, something truly unique,” he said.

Klæbo himself has not completely dismissed the idea. “First, I need to do the [2026] Olympics, and then we’ll see,” he said previously. “After the Olympics, I’ll start thinking about what I’ll do next, so maybe joining the Uno-X team should be the next goal.”

The relationship between rider and team is already established. Klæbo has joined Uno-X riders on training rides in recent seasons, taken part in recon around major spring races and spent time within the team environment during the Tour de France.

The question now is not whether Klæbo can ride a bike. It is whether one of winter sport’s most dominant athletes could realistically translate his physiology into professional road cycling.

Cycling has seen crossover success before. Primoz Roglic famously moved from ski jumping into Grand Tour contention. Norwegian prospect Jorgen Nordhagen transitioned from junior cross-country skiing into the professional peloton at a young age.

But elite endurance does not guarantee road success.

Kristian Blummenfelt openly discussed ambitions of winning the Tour de France after dominating Olympic triathlon and Ironman racing. The physiological profile was never in doubt. The practical reality of embedding within the professional peloton proved more complex, and the switch never materialised.

Cycling demands far more than aerobic capacity. Positioning in a nervous bunch, technical handling at speed, tactical instinct, and years of race craft cannot be compressed into a short trial period.

Klæbo’s case would still be unique. Cross-country skiing overlaps more closely with cycling in sustained aerobic output and repeated high-intensity efforts, and Norwegian skiers use the bike extensively in training. The “engine” Hushovd refers to is very real.

For Uno-X, now fully established at WorldTour level and built around Scandinavian endurance culture, the idea is not as far-fetched as it might sound. Even so, this remains an invitation rather than an imminent contract.

Klæbo has already rewritten the history books on snow. Whether he ever decides to test that engine against the demands of the WorldTour peloton remains one of the more intriguing endurance questions to emerge in the post-Olympic season.