"I don't want to lose time on purpose" - Tobias Johannnessen ready to contest GC at Tour de France after 5th place at Dauphiné
Cycling
Tobias Johannnessen was one of the many positive revelations of this year's Criterium du Dauphiné. The winner of 2021 Tour de l'Avenir has been more of a stage hunter in recent years, but 2025 seems to be the year the Norwegian climber finally steps up to become a GC leader for his team at the biggest level.
"We really wanted to have the fifth place in the GC," Johannessen takes us back to a pre-stage briefing in the Uno-X Mobility team bus. Their goal was evident when the men in red-yellow kits rolled up to the front of peloton to control a dangerous breakaway.
Read also
With 10th overall Enric Mas in the group, the Norwegian team could not be too careful about the situation. "Enric Mas was in the breakaway and they were going really fast."
Through a collective effort, they were able to keep the escapees on a short enough leash, which makes Johannessen very proud of his teammates' work: "They did a crazy job and every guy on the team pulled today."
Tour de France will be the next race on the menu for a large part of the team that raced in France this week. "I think we all got a really good training session before the big race in 3 weeks."
"This is the biggest GC result in a WorldTour stage race for the team so that's something we can be proud of," the 25-year-old rider highlights. "The race went much better than we expected and while we didn't come here with GC ambitions, day by day I felt better and better so to finish it off like this was great."
After a top-5 at Dauphiné, having lost only to three big favourites Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Florian Lipowitz - maybe it wouldn't be a bad call to target the GC also in July? The Norwegian climber doesn't want to reveal his cards just yet: "I don't want to lose time on purpose," he grins.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- lol yeah. this is a good onemij12-11-2026
- Mads is the best: I didn’t even know there were rules in cyclocross. I just thought it was a matter of: ‘Go, three, two, one, ride.’ It’s like a street fight, a kind of underground brawl. It’s the MMA of cycling he gives the best quotes.mij12-11-2026
- he's too young. he's 23, so not really a fair call yet.mij12-11-2026
- and don't forget Pidcock's departure. maybe he will never win a GT, but he knows how to light up a race.mij12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026 - some of lidl-treks retention and recruiting has been puzzling in the mens and womens teams.Davide11-11-2026
- Yeah his ride at World's was unreal. Over 6 W/kg for over an hour and a half...he single handedly destroyed the break.DAS11-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment