Per Strand Hagenes ready to move to World Tour: "I have the feeling that the transition will go smoothly"

Per Strand Hagenes is known as one of the greatest cycling talents in the current peloton. The 20-year-old Norwegian was recruited to the Jumbo-Visma training team in 2022, where he hopes to develop into one of the absolute strongmen for classics. The Scandinavian announced this to In de Leiderstrui prior to the Super 8 Classic.

"Yes, I can really speak of a top season," says the Norwegian in Brakel, immediately after the opening presentation of the Jumbo-Visma lineup. "Although I sometimes had to deal with some down moments, as things did not always go well in the races," he mainly refers to the somewhat disappointing Tour de l'Avenir. "But of course the good results stand out. All in all, I can speak of a successful year." If he had to choose, his impressive triumph in the 4 Jours de Dunkerque is Hagenes' personal highlight. "That was a really nice victory. I still like to think back about it."

In 2024, Hagenes will complete a full season at WorldTour level. This means that he will be fully involved with the big boys of Jumbo-Visma. It is then expected to say that Hagenes finds that a bit exciting. However, the cheerful young man himself indicates that everything is not too bad. "I have already been able to gain some experience among the elite men this year, so I think that makes a difference. I have the feeling that the transition will go smoothly, so that is a reassuring feeling. Besides, I'm just really looking forward to it!" says Hagenes.

According to Hagenes, the yellow and black main team naturally has plans with the talented rider, but they do not want to rush things at Jumbo-Visma. "I would really like to focus on classics later. If I could participate in the Belgian classics next year, that would simply be fantastic. In the long term, my goal is to participate in these races with the best, especially because races such as Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders are my favorite races."