"There's still two guys that are a bit stronger": Jorgen Nordhagen aims for the biggest stars after top-5 at Romandie

There's no denying that Jorgen Nordhagen always had seal of approval of a talented GC rider, especially since a top squad such as Visma | Lease a Bike did not hesitate to offer the young rider a WorldTour contract already after his first junior season. And Nordhagen definitely lives up to our expectations with strong performances, most recently a top-5 overall at the Tour de Romandie.

The result didn't come around without an appropriate effort, but that makes it all the more valuable. The week kicked off in a rather unsatisfactory fashion as Nordhagen lost to his rivals a little more than he hoped in the opening prologue, however he quickly turned the situation around with a fourth place in first mountain stage, tagging along with Tadej Pogacar in a stage in Martigny. Stage 4 caught Nordhagen in a slightly lesser daily form, but the young Norwegian finished off the job in Sunday's queen stage with another top-5 finish.

"It was a was a hard final - trying to drop Lenny, but he was strong so it was not possible," Nordhagen sighed at Cycling Pro Net microphone after having crossed the finish line in mountain village in Leysin.

"I think the climb was hard, but I needed it to be more steady because now it was a one-minute kick," the Norwegian described the final ascent - 14.3 kilometers at 5.9% - where the general classification of this year's Tour de Romandie was to be decided.

While top-2 in GC was already decided coming into Sunday's stage, a podium was still very much an option for Nordhagen as Lenny Martinez was within hand's reach - boasting a seven-second advantage over the Visma rider. And as has been the case the entire week, the young duo was inseparable on the way to Leysin, finishing together at the same time.

Despite Nordhagen's best efforts, Martinez did not budge as he showed no weakness in defense of his third place, even if the situation became a little frustrating to Nordhagen at times: "He didn't want to pull through, so we stopped a bit. But I understand him. If I was in his position, I wouldn't pull either. So that's fair."

Thus, the group racing for fourth place (behind Pogacar, Lipowitz and Roglic) came together as several other riders joined up with Martinez and Nordhagen. And even though Nordhagen seemed stronger than his French opponent on the final climb, he was unable to create a gap: "The last 500 [meters] from the right corner were too punchy," he noted.

After a fifth place overall at last year's Tour of Guangxi, Nordhagen improved his career high at a WorldTour race by another step, even though he'd prefer it to happen in a field with a greater depth. Regardless, the Norwegian climber has completed a great spring block with a second overall at O Gran Camino, and another top GC result with 8th overall at UAE Tour at the start of the year.

For the 21-year-old, who only full-time transitioned from cross-country skiing two years ago, it's definitely a welcome confidence boost looking towards his Grand Tour debut scheduled for this summer at Vuelta a Espana.

"It gives confidence that I can be up there and fight with with some of the best guys," he nods, before pointing out that the absolute best are still a level beyond: "There's still two guys that are a bit stronger, so I'll have to go home and train more."

While Nordhagen's Vuelta debut seems set in stone, the run-up programme is not quite as much. Currently, it's unclear when we'll see Nordhagen back in the action, but we can sure of one thing - that he'll again compete for a victory wherever the road leads him to.