"It was the worst time of my life": Andre Drege's former manager recalls last year's tragic events
Cycling
Norwegian continental team Coop-Repsol went through a horror last summer, but through hard work and collective efforts, they were able to turn the page and reward their long-term sponsor Coop with a fairy-tale victory of Storm Ingrebrigtsen at the home Tour of Norway in the company's last year as team's title sponsor.
"The proudest moment for sure was this victory of Storm in May," general manager Roy Hegreberg told Domestique. "It was emotional in many ways. I had tears in my eyes when I started talking about it now."
The powerful moment represented far more than just a race win. It was also a symbol of the team’s resilience in the aftermath of André Drege’s tragic death in a crash during the 2024 Tour of Austria. Suddenly, the young team had to deal with the loss of their star rider and a leader both on and off the bike.
Despite the unfortunate events, the collective sticked together and pulled through the hardest times together. The management understood well that the best they can do for their riders was to keep the group together. That's why the only transfer made ahead of 2025 was to sign Eirik Vang Aas. Not to fill in the shoes of Drege, but to meet UCI's rule of minimum of 10 riders.
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The worst time of my life
"It was the worst time of my life," Hegreberg said of a tragedy that left the team questioning its future in the sport. "It was something I never believed I would stand in, be a part of. And then it happened. But I think we handled it in a good way. We managed to stand in it, standing together."
The breaking point came at the end of this May. Storm Ingebrigtsen joined the obligatory breakaway at the start of the first stage of Tour of Norway. However peloton underestimated the 20-year-old Norwegian who outwitted all WorldTour teams to take the biggest victory of his young career. As he crossed the finish line with finger pointed to the sky, a tear run down Hegreberg's cheek.
Storm Ingebrigtsen dedicated his victory at the Tour of Norway to Dregé
"There were so many emotions coming out that evening. Relieved, happy, proud that we have a team that really can fight with the big ones when everything goes our way," he said.
Together, the team moved on. Not entirely, but enough so that their talents could again start developing. And at the end of this year, three of Coop-Repsol's best talents move up to the professional ranks. The aforementioned jumps straight to WorldTour with Uno-X Mobility. Meanwhile his compatriots Karsten Larsen Feldmann and Eivind Broholt Fougner both strengthen the Unibet Rose Rockets.
"That’s probably what I’m most proud of, that we are standing here now. We are fighting here," said Hegreberg. "We managed to stand in the crisis we were in last year. So that’s something I’m very proud of being a part of and something that has defined our team."
Exciting times ahead
Besides the three departures to pro-level, more massive changes lie ahead for the Norwegian team anyway. The arrival of new title sponsor, the Italian company Drali Milano means that the team's identity will be slightly more internation heading forward. And with new owner in the person of Alexander Kristoff, ambitions will be greater than ever.
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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leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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