The 20-year-old Nordhagen has had a challenging start to his first year in the WorldTeam of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. After illness during his season opener in Oman, the young Norwegian bounced back and delivered his best stage race to date a few weeks ago in the Tour de Romandie. "I can see that I am making progress. In recent months, I have gained some nice experiences. Things are improving step by step and I’m taking that positive feeling with me to Norway”, the rider says.

It will be Nordhagen’s first time racing for Team Visma | Lease a Bike on home soil. "That's going to be very special. “Cycling in Norway is very different from racing in the Netherlands or Belgium - there’s nowhere near as much of a crowd. In Scandinavia, the focus is more on winter sports. However, many family members and friends will be along the roadside and I’ll also meet some of my former teammates in the peloton. I'm really looking forward to that."

In the Tour of Norway, Nordhagen will be accompanied by Matthew Brennan, the 19-year-old Briton who has already claimed seven victories in 2025. “I think that's really brilliant”, Nordhagen says. "Just last year, I was on the Development Team with him and now he's beating some of the best riders in the peloton in pure sprints. It’s inspiring to see what is possible. His victories a huge motivation for the rest of us in the same age group."

At Team Visma | Lease a Bike, this age group is referred to as the so-called White Jersey group, consisting of riders under the age of 23. This season, there has been a shift in approach, with young talents like Nordhagen and Brennan being given the freedom and opportunities to pursue their own results in races. “That approach is very similar to how we did things with the Development Team”, Nordhagen explains. “Only now, we’re learning to race at the highest level.”

“It’s great to see that the team has built a race calendar completely tailored to me. That approach is working, you can see that in my development. I'm learning how to ride finales with the pros. That should pay off into some good results in the coming months”, the Norwegian says. At the end of June, the talent hopes to make a bid for the overall victory in the Giro Next Gen.

“There are definitely some stages that suit him. At the same time, a few stages include quite a bit of climbing. Together with Attila, we also have the chance to go for a good result in the general classification. I hope I can carry my form from the past few weeks into the race and that we can achieve some strong results.”

Alongside Nordhagen and Brennan, Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s six-man lineup is completed by Attila Valter, Thomas Gloag, Per Strand Hagenes, and Tosh van der Sande.