Tobias Johannessen has emerged as one of the brightest talents in cycling over the last few years, however not everything has been a sea of roses for the Norwegian, who revealed in a recent interview to have considered retiring just months ago.
“Walking was fine, but it was painful to go down the stairs, for example. I went for a walk a few times and a little run, but it hurt," Johannessen told TV2. "If I continued to be in so much pain, I would not have been able to continue cycling. I have thought about stopping several times."
After ending his season the 23-year sustained a chronic knee injury that he had endured in the past. He abandoned both Tour de Pologne and the Arctic Race of Norway and ended his season back in August, and for several months has endured difficulties on daily activities, including getting on the bike.
This led to a lot of stress and consideration over retiring from cycling, despite his position. However, having been advised and undergone a surgery, the health complications seem to finally be behind the talented climber. “The knee is better than ever. I have trained a bit in recent weeks and that feels really good," he shared.
Although he was a leading figure with Uno-X already in 2021 where he won the Tour de l'Avenir and finished second in the under-23 Giro d'Italia and the Sazka Tour - with many wins on the way - 2022 was his neo-pro year and first season with the pros. “It has been a great season, but I have more to do. As a cyclist I want to win races and I have not done that often," he said.
He took a win at the early season Etoile de Bessèges where he finished third, finished 7th at the Volta a Catalunya, fourth at the Tour of Norway where he won the points classification, and finished tenth at the Critérium du Dauphiné where he won the youth classification. His season was cut short due to the injury.
Gabriel Rasch, who's moving into Uno-X from INEOS Grenadiers compared Johannessen to Carlos Rodríguez, the two riders who have battled for the win in the 2021 Tour de l'Avenir, has talked about the Norwegian talent and how he fares against the Spanish champion who's ridden to seventh at the Vuelta a Espana.
“Tobias has absolutely insane potential. As a sports director at INEOS I managed Carlos Rodriguez, one of the greatest talents in the world, and Tobias has shown that he is better. Tobias has some special qualities that Carlos does not have," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
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