Jörgen Nordhagen quickly killed the excitement in the mass start over 20 kilometers in the U20 class.
Halfway into the race, the Norwegian had the lead by almost a minute. Time continued to tick away for the competitors, and for many the race came to an abrupt end as they lapped the 3.3 kilometer loop.
Over 30 riders out of the 99 starters were picked off, including Nordhagen’s Norwegian teammate Oskar Opstad Vike.
– He is a physical monster, Nordhagen. Brutal capacity, says SVT expert Anders Blomquist.
Should end with length
The championship will be the Norwegian talent’s last – as he will soon end his career to invest in cycling.
– There aren’t that many cyclists or others either who can be close to his oxygen uptake. He probably has 90-something in oxygen uptake, says Blomquist.
In 2022, Nordhagen signed for the large Dutch cycling stable Jumbo-Visma and the plan was then that he would start competing with them in 2024.
Myhlback: “So annoying”
The margin of victory down to runner-up Aksel Artusi, Italy, was 2.11 minutes. Davide Ghio, also Italian, won the bronze. Alvar Myhlback was the best Swede as sixth in the race.
– So annoying to be missed like that, says Myhlback to SVT.
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Hear Alvar Myhlback after the JVM premiere – pays tribute to the Norwegian Nordhagen: “Impressive to see” Photo: SVT