Jørgen Nordhagen (19), Johannes Staune-Mittet (22), and Per Strand Hagenes (20) have taken the cycling world by storm, and perhaps Norway has lost three cross-country skiing talents who could have become the new Northug or Klæbo.

Jørgen won the Junior World Championships last winter, and it made headlines when he suddenly ended his cross-country career as a 19-year-old World champion to focus on cycling.

Also Read: Jørgen Nordhagen winner at the Junior World Championships mass start in Planica

Johannes won the Norwegian Junior Championships, and in Falun, he beat the best Swedes, Edvin Anger and Måns Skoglund. But then he won the “baby Giro” in Italy, and the road was – literally – paved for the guy from Lillehammer.

Per Strand Hagenes from Sandnes outside, Stavanger won the Norwegian Junior Cup on skis and was one of several who could have made the step up to the national team with skis on their legs. But a Junior World Cycling Championships got in the way, and now he’s racing alongside stars like Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert.

These three great talents show that the background of a high-level cross-country skier is solid if you want to reach the top in another of the world’s most demanding sports, namely road cycling.

Johannes Staune-Mittet

Coming from Lillehammer, cross-country skiing was a natural choice for him. Together with his older brother Anders, they also achieved success. Johannes won the 10km classic style during the Norwegian Junior Championships in Savalen 2019. He also took silver in the same distance in freestyle.

But the cycling talent was also great, and Jumbo-Visma in Holland saw the potential. In 2021, Johannes joined Jumbo-Visma’s development team, and it didn’t take long for the results to come, either.

First, he won the Ronde de l’Isard overall in 2022 after winning a stage the year before. But the big breakthrough was his overall victory in the Giro Next Gen or “Baby-Giro” in Italy in 2023. There, he won one of the toughest mountain stages to the Passo Stelvio, and the victory attracted attention throughout the cycling world.

This year, Johannes is riding for the WorldTour team of Team Visma-Lease a Bike, the new name of the team. And he has already been given big tasks. This spring alone, he has been in the lineup for Milan-San Remo, Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallone, and the Tour of Romandie.

And with injuries to both Vingegaard and van Aert, the team has been dogged by bad luck this year. On the other hand, it has provided new opportunities for the Norwegian talents.

Per Strand Hagenes

Per has already proven to be one of Visma-Lease a Bike’s rising stars. He also has a background in cross-country skiing, where he showed extraordinary talent.

Per won the 10km freestyle at the Norwegian Junior Cup in Lygna in 2020 with a victory margin of 28 seconds. He was also 5th in Holmenkollen’s junior 15km freestyle race, which was won by the later junior world champion Mathias Holbæk.

The 2021 World Championships gold medal in cycling opened the door to Jumbo-Visma’s development team. Per also had a silver medal from the Junior European Championships. And it took him only a short time to prove himself in the yellow cycling suit.

In 2022, he won Paris-Tours Espoirs and stages in the Oberösterreich Rundfahrt and Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux. This allowed him to try out for the A-team already last season. Per Strand Hagenes thanked and accepted with victories in Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, Ronde van Drenthe, and stages in the 4-day Dunkirk and Olympia’s Tour.

This year, like Johannes Staune-Mittet, he has raced in some of the biggest classic races. He was, among other things, 40th in the Tour of Flanders and 44th in Paris-Rouxbaix.

Jørgen Nordhagen

The biggest talent is perhaps only 19 years old (or maybe relatively young) Jørgen Nordhagen, who won the Junior World Championships 20km mass start race in freestyle technique with a solid margin of just over two minutes in Planica last winter.

He also won silver in the Junior World Championships relay (behind Sweden) and fourth place in the 10km classic style (won by Alvar Myhlback). Already in 2023, the enormous talent from Lier outside Drammen impressed with an 8th place in the 15km freestyle at the Norwegian Senior Championships in Gjøvik. Before him on the list, he had known names like Harald Østberg Amundsen, Hans Christer Holund, Iver Tildheim Andersen, Vebjørn Turtveit, Sjur Røthe, Mattis Stenshagen, and Henrik Dønnestad.

That’s why many people were surprised when he immediately announced that he would be retiring to focus on cycling after winning the gold medal at the World Championships.

Jørgen Nordhagen is cycling in Visma-Lease a Bike’s development team this year, but at only 20 years old, he will be a member of the WorldTour team next year. He has a contract until 2027, and the results are already coming in. He was second in the second stage of the Ronde de l’Isard and 3rd in the U23 edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Already last year, as an 18-year-old, he was 4th at the World Championships in the time trial and 6th in the road race. He also won silver at the European Junior Championships.

On June 9, Jørgen Nordhagen will start in the Giro Next Gen – the “Baby-Giro” – which he could become the second Norwegian ex-cross-country skier to win in just two years.

FACTS

JOHANNES STAUNE-MITTET

• From Lillehammer, born January 18, 2002
• Professional in the Jumbo-Visma Development Team 2021-2023
• Pro in Team Visma-Lease a Bike 2024-2026

Professional victories

• GC Giro Next Gen 2023
• GC Ronde de l’Isard 2022
• 1 stage Czech Tour 2023
• Giro del Belvedere 2023
• 2x stage Ronde de l’Isard 2021 and 2022
• 1 stage Giro Next Gen 2023
• 2 GC Tour de l’Avenir 2022
• 3 GC Oberösterreich Rundfahrt 2022

2024

• 60 Milano-San Remo
• 16 Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
• 77 Amstel Gold Race
• 27 La Fleche Wallonne
• 20 Tour of Romandie

Cross-country skiing

• 3/ Holmenkollen junior 15km F 2020
• 3/ Falun junior 10km C 2020 
• 1/ junior-NM 10km C 2019 (Savalen)
• 2/ junior-NM 10km F 2019 (Savalen)

PER STRAND HAGENES

• From Sandnes, born July 10, 2003
• Professional in Jumbo-Visma Development Team 2022-2023
• Pro in Team Visma-Lease a Bike 2024-2026

Professional victories

• Sparkassen Münsterland Giro 2023
• Tour of Drenthe 2023
• 1 etp 4-Days of Dunkerque 2023
• Paris-Tours Espoirs 2022
• 1 stage Oberösterreich Rundfahrt 2022
• 1 stage Olympia’s Tour 2023
• 1 stage Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux 2022
• 1 Junior World Road Championships 2021
• 1 Junior European Road Championships 2021

2024

• 40 Tour of Flanders
• 44 Paris-Roubaix
• 107 Amstel Gold Race

Cross-country skiing

• 1/ NC junior 10 km F 2020 (Lygna) – 28 seconds ahead of the runner-up
• 5/ Holmenkollen junior 15 km F 2020 – Mathias Holbæk won

JØRGEN NORDHAGEN

• From Lier, born January 10, 2005 (Sjåstad/Vestre Lier IL)
• Pro in Team NTG/Uno-X 2022-2023
• Pro in Team Visma-Lease a Bike Development 2024
• Pro in Team Visma-Lease a Bike 2025-2027

Results

• 3 Liége-Bastogne-Liége U23 2024
• 2 etp Ronde de l’Isard 2024
• 2 junior-EM tempo 2023
• 4 junior World Cup tempo 2023
• 6 Junior World Road Championships 2023
• 4 GC Giro della Lunigiana 2023
• 1 junior World Cup tempo 2023
• 2×1 etp Tour de Himmelfart 2023
• 1 GC Course de la Paix Juniors 2023 (CZE)
• 1 GC + etp Eroica Juniors – Nations cup 2023 (ITA)
• Start in Giro d’Italia Next Gen June 9

Cross-country skiing

2024

• 1/ JVM 20 km F mass start (Planica) – won with 2.11
• 2/ JVM 4×5km relay
• 4/ JVM 10 km C
• 1/ NC jr Lygna 15km F
• 1/ FIS senior Sjusjøen – ahead of Magne Haga and Jonas Vika

2023

• 6/ JVM 10 km F (Whistler)
• 8/ NM 15 km F senior, Gjøvik (after Amundsen, Holund, Andersen, Turtveit, Røthe, Stenshagen, Dønnestad)

Read the original Langrenn.com article from Kjell-Erik Kristiansen, HERE! Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.