Studded tires and bathroom training sessions is what it sometimes takes to be a pro: "It’s better to ride in -10°C than in 3°C with rain"
Cycling
Jonas Abrahamsen was one of the sensational revelations of last season, in particular thanks to his tenacious rides at the Tour de France. In 2025, he aims to leave his mark at the cobbled classics and not even the tough Norwegian winters could stop him from honing his preparation.
Obnbviously, that comes with many endless hours of inside training sessions. "If you live in Norway, you have to train on rollers," Abrahamsen begins in an interview for IDLProCycling. "You get used to it, so it’s not that bad. In fact, you can do very specific interval training indoors. You can dial in your exact power and everything."
"My rollers are set up in my girlfriend’s apartment in Oslo, where we have a dedicated room for it. I open the window and put on some good music. What kind of music? Hip-hop, but honestly, a bit of everything. When you spend that many hours on the trainer, you need to have a broad taste in music."
Despite the harsh conditions in Norway during winter, Abrahamsen does his best to ride outside at least occasionally: "I have studded tires on my bike, as well as a gravel bike with wider tires. It’s also important to have good overshoes and gloves. Honestly, it’s not that bad—actually, it’s better to ride in -10°C than in 3°C with rain." To warm up quickly afterward, he follows up his long endurance rides with a heat training session of about 50 minutes.
"Sometimes it’s nice to be able to ride outside when you’re already spending so much time on the trainer," Abrahamsen explains. "I did heat training five times over three weeks. That way, you warm up again after five hours of freezing on the bike in -10°C. And honestly, it’s also a mental challenge because you know you’re doing something totally crazy," he laughs.
"I do the heat workouts in the bathroom, so the temperature stays consistent," says Abrahamsen, who trains at 30°C for these sessions. "I lose about two liters of fluid in 50 minutes, so it’s quite a lot. Luckily, we have an air purifier that collects the moisture—after a session, there’s about a liter and a half in it. Otherwise, my girlfriend’s apartment would look very different, haha."
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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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