WHAT A SENSATION! Very few people could expect such an incredible breakthrough from Emma Norsgaard in 2021: from being ‘just’ one of the biggest prospects in the WorldTour, to a firm reality as one of the best riders in the peloton, full stop, in just a couple of months. Six wins -the second biggest scorer of the whole Movistar Team organisation, only behind Annemiek van Vleuten- marked the impressive year of a rider you can’t get enough of: a force of nature for the sprints, flat roads, time trials or the big classics, as well as a really mature person (it’s incredible to think she’s just 22) and a charming one to have around. The Telefónica-backed squad enjoys every minute’s she’s got a number pinned to her back, and recognised her value with an ‘express extension’, right in the middle of last year, which will see her wearing the M-jersey until the end of 2024.

COMMANDING VICTORIES. She claimed the 2016 Danish road race championships while still being a 16-year-old junior rider; claimed stage one of the 2020 Setmana Valenciana -against now-teammate Arlenis Sierra- and conquered a second national title later in the summer; and exploded in 2021 with no less than six other wins: two stages + the GC of the Festival Elsy Jacobs in Luxembourg; the opening stage of the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour, where she finished on the overall podium; the Danish ITT Champs; and, most importanly, her first Grand Tour stage on day six of the Giro Donne. To add to that tally, she scored 13 other podium finishes last year, showing great consistency from a rider who has earned a well-deserved spot within the sport’s best.

CYCLING AT HOME. It’s inevitable to talk about the Norsgaard surname without citing a beautiful honour: Emma and brother Mathias are the first opposite-sex siblings to become members of the same UCI WorldTour (men’s and women’s) organisation. The case goes on further as Emma got married in October 2021 to another household name of Danish cycling: Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates), a three-time U23 ITT World Champion and an impressive rouleur whose abilities are shared by his wife (now sharing those last names with Mikkel, yet she prefers to maintain her ‘sporting name’). All three live in Girona, where they share a passion that has turned into their job.