CONTINUE TO GROW. Four years ago, Mathias Norsgaard had his leg completely shattered at a brutal road incident in Girona, just before signing with the Movistar Team, which forced him to compete for four years with a titanium bar “from knee to toe.” The Telefónica-backed squad was then patient enough to wait for his best results and is now supporting him again, with a new three-year contract (2024-26) which he has thanked the Blues publicly for in the best possible terms: “In a world with such low job security and year-to-year contracts, this means the world to me.”

POWERFUL TALENT. At 2m02, Mathias Norsgaard is the tallest rider of the 200+ athletes who have been part of the Abarca Sports organisation in more than 40 years, as well as only the second man from his country to don the Telefónica-backed squad’s jersey -the first one being Gert Frank, in 1980-. A time trialist and a pure rouleur, following the Danish canons, he came into the world spotlight as he took the bronze medal in the 2018 U23 ITT World Championships -also finishing 4th in Yorkshire (2019)-, and also showed his excellent power with a long, successful break on stage one of the 2019 Tour de l’Avenir, ahead of the biggest world talents. Two have been so far his victories while part of the Movistar Team: the 2022 Danish ITT Championship and the 2023 GP Herning, arguably the most prestigious event in his country, full of gravel roads.

CYCLING AS A FAMILY. His is one of very few cases when a brother and a sister have been able to make it up to the same WorldTour outfit: Mathias, and Emma Norsgaard, a strong sprinter and rouleur, whose results soon made become one of the leaders of the Movistar Team. Emma’s husband is, coincidentally, a world-class athlete and a good friend of Mathias: Mikkel Bjerg, a three-time U23 ITT world champion.