Emma Norsgaard

NOT A SPRINTER ANYMORE. And that might have paradoxically turned her in a better rider than before. She transformed her body over the last few years to prevent her terminal speed from becoming a limiting factor, and even if that move might have made her not shine as brightly, she brought her the best success in her professional career. A stellar exhibition, including a last push to the line, saw her celebrating on stage six of the Tour de France in Blagnac. A resounding victory to leave behind so much suffering -three brutal crashes over the last two years, including a collarbone fracture at Strade Bianche in 2023-, which, down in part of that, made her never settle, always going for more.

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. In 2022, she won the Danish TT champs again -another one she kept in 2023-, her first classic at Le Samyn and the Brittany event, Kreiz Breizh.

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 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 between Denmark and the Pyrenees, where they share a passion that has turned into their job.