Jumbo-Visma continues to look to the future with its latest signing, the 16-year-old Norwegian star, Håkon Eiksund Øksnes, who will be part of its development team.
“It’s really great. I’ve always dreamt of riding for the team. This is huge,” Øksnes said to TV2. Signing a two-year contract, the prodigy born in 2007, who has stood out in Norwegian junior races, will join the Dutch team JEGG-DJR Academy.
“You’re almost speechless. You gain a lot of confidence in their system when you see all the other Norwegian riders who have had success there. Hagenes and Staune-Mittet have won a lot, and the team has Jonas Vingegaard, and this year they’ve won all the major three-week races. So, it looks very good.”
UNO-X showed no interest in the young talent
As Norway now has its own professional cycling team, Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, which even competed in the Tour de France earlier this year, TV2 reporter Mads Kaggestad is questioning why the team didn’t pursue the local young talent.
“I’m surprised that these riders slip through Uno-X. Uno-X would certainly like to have more Norwegians on the team, but Jumbo-Visma is simply quicker in recruiting. It’s a competition for the top talents, and Jumbo-Visma probably has a more aggressive approach,” Kaggestad says.
UNO-X responds
Responding to the news on their official X (Twitter) account, however, Jens Haugland, Uno-X manager, replied to Kaggestad. “I’m surprised that these riders ‘slip through’ Uno-X, says Mads Kaggestad. Well, I’ll be damned if we start chasing riders before they’re juniors. We will always fight for a great Norwegian club and school model, and we are a proud sponsor of NTG and many Norwegian clubs.”