Jumbo Visma has continued the trend of major teams signing very young talent, this time contracting a first-year junior aged 17 years from Norway. He has been mixing his cycling with cross-country skiing, though his cycling took off this year; the first season he had ridden any UCI-ranked races.
The new deal with Jumbo Visma involves Jørgen Nordhagen joining its development team at the start of 2024, though he plans to continue racing in cross-country skiing alongside his cycling. He will progress onto the Jumbo Visma World Tour squad for the 2025 season in a contract that will continue until the end of 2027.
Nordhagen won two national cross-country skiing competitions in his age group in Norway last year and also claimed silver in the Norwegian championships. However, having switched his attentions to cycling this year he excelled and has been snapped up into the pro ranks.
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"Because I have already decided to transfer to Jumbo-Visma after my junior season, I can continue to develop in peace and quiet and focus on my sporting goals," he said, adding he had the "same mindset" as the team. "It's also good to meet my fellow countrymen Tobias Foss, Per Strand Hagenes, and Johannes Staune-Mittet. I've heard positive things about the team from them.
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"I'll keep combining cycling with cross-country skiing in the upcoming seasons. I want to continue that combination for as long as I can. It is a terrific workout that helps me train and develop my entire physique."
Jumbo Visma's head of development, Robbert de Groot, said the team was able to provide "long-term pathways" to very young riders because its development team athletes could step up into the World Tour squad for some races when they were ready.
"The fact that we are embarking on such a trajectory with such a young boy is quite special. We see exceptional talent in Jorgen. He is a highly motivated boy who seeks a training program where he feels he can improve," he added of his new signing.
Nordhagen finished 9th in the junior TT and 13th in the road race at the UCI World Road Championships in Wollongong in September. He took his first major cycling result back in May with 3rd overall at Course de la Paix Juniors (2.Ncup) in the Czech Republic. He then finished 2nd in the TT stages at both Trophée Centre Morbihan (2.Ncup) in France in May and Tour du Pays de Vaud (2.Ncup) in Switzerland, also in May.
He was then 3rd overall at LVM Saarland Trofeo (2.Ncup) in June and won the Norwegian TT title later that month as well as taking silver in the Europeans TT in Portugal in July. He claimed a stage victory at Grand Prix Rüebliland (2.1) in Switzerland in September and was 2nd overall.
