“I was too good to quit” - Mathieu van der Poel's new teammate reveals he nearly gave up cycling to work in construction
Cycling
Morten Nortoft could have been preparing for a career in construction rather than a place alongside Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen in the WorldTour peloton.
After missing out on promotion from Team Visma | Lease a Bike's development programme, the 24-year-old Dane had given himself one final chance to make his professional ambitions a reality.
That gamble has paid off spectacularly. Alpecin - Premier Tech confirmed Nortoft's arrival on a two-year contract on 30 October, ending the uncertainty that had left him contemplating a future working alongside his father-in-law instead of continuing his cycling career.
"There was a very good chance that, if it didn't happen this year, I'd have ended up hammering nails with my father-in-law. It was either that or cycling," Nortoft revealed in an interview with TV 2 Sport.
Matthieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen will be teammates with Nortoft in 2027
From Visma disappointment to an uncertain future
Nortoft's path to cycling's highest level initially appeared relatively straightforward. An overall victory at the 2022 Orlen Nations Grand Prix, including a stage win, established him as a promising under-23 prospect and earned him a place with Jumbo-Visma's development team for the following season.
He spent 2023 and 2024 within the Dutch organisation, adding a stage victory at the Course de la Paix Grand Prix Jeseniky to his palmarès in his second year. However, the opportunity to graduate into the WorldTour ranks never materialised.
Having reached the end of his under-23 eligibility, Nortoft could not continue with the development squad. With no contract forthcoming from Visma's senior team, he faced the prospect of having to abandon the ambitions that had taken him into one of cycling's most prestigious development programmes.
"It felt as though cycling had taken a turn, and suddenly it had become impossible to turn professional," he recalled. "But I wasn't going to let that be the reason I threw in the towel."
Two years at ColoQuick earn a second chance
Nortoft instead returned to Denmark, joining Continental outfit Team ColoQuick for 2025. Far from disappearing from the professional racing picture, he began assembling the results that would ultimately put him back on the radar of WorldTour teams.
His first campaign brought fifth overall at the Circuit des Ardennes, second at Fyn Rundt and third at Giro Himledalen. He also finished 13th overall at the Tour of Denmark, recording a fourth-place stage finish against opposition from higher-level teams.
The following spring brought further encouragement. Nortoft finished fourth overall at Olympia's Tour in March, taking third on the opening stage, before matching that general classification placing at April's Circuit des Ardennes, where he also finished second on Stage 3.
Although those results were not followed by a sustained run of podium finishes during the second half of 2026, they added to a body of performances stretching back to his under-23 years. Rather than relying on one breakthrough victory, Nortoft had shown he could repeatedly compete near the front of international stage races.
For the Dane, who had already spent two years watching his original WorldTour opportunity slip away, there was little appetite to walk away without exhausting his remaining options. "I felt I was too good to quit," he told TV 2.
His persistence was rewarded when Alpecin - Premier Tech offered him the opportunity Visma had not. Having raced for Continental teams throughout his senior career, Nortoft will make his WorldTour debut in 2027, with a contract keeping him at the Belgian squad through 2028. "It's surreal to think that you've achieved your childhood dream. Suddenly, that dream is coming true," he said.
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From fighting for a contract to targeting the Ardennes
Joining Alpecin - Premier Tech will bring Nortoft into a team with established leaders in Van der Poel and Philipsen, but his own strengths suggest he could eventually find opportunities on terrain that suits neither a pure sprinter nor a specialist climber.
"I'm probably a real Ardennes rider. I can climb reasonably well, but I'm not good in the mountains. I can ride well on the flat, but I'm not the best there either," he explained.
The Dane has already identified Amstel Gold Race as an event that particularly appeals to him, drawing on the mixture of climbing ability, endurance and finishing speed that has helped him produce consistent results in shorter stage races.
"Never the completely flat days and never the really hard days. Anything in between usually suits me quite well," he said. "I'm a decent time triallist and I've got a reasonable finish. Amstel Gold Race would suit me pretty well."
His first challenge will be adjusting to the demands of a considerably stronger racing calendar. Alpecin's established leaders will naturally command much of the team's attention, particularly in the major Classics, while Nortoft will need to establish his value against opposition far stronger than he has regularly faced at Continental level.
But the two-year agreement gives him a platform that was missing when he departed Visma at the end of 2024. Having missed the increasingly common route directly from a development squad into the WorldTour, Nortoft has secured his place by returning to Continental racing and producing the results necessary to earn another chance.
For a rider who was preparing to exchange professional cycling for a job in construction, the prospect of lining up in the Ardennes Classics alongside some of the sport's biggest names is now a realistic ambition rather than a distant possibility.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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