Thor Hushovd is still on cloud nine after his team Uno-X Mobility secured a WorldTour license for the next three years in the final weekend of last season at the last minute. In an interview with the Norwegian Dagbladet, he talks about his ambitions to have the best Norwegian and Danish riders in his team, but not at any cost.
With Mads Pedersen and Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark has two riders in the top 4 of the UCI Ranking and ranks second in the UCI Nations Ranking, just behind Belgium. Uno-X Mobility’s men's team consists solely of Norwegians and Danes, as this is important for the main sponsor. This means the talent pool is not very large for team boss Hushovd, himself a multiple winner of the green jersey and Tour de France stages. He also became world champion in 2010 in Geelong, Australia.
"Maybe by 2027 we’ll attract a star," the Norwegian revealed to Dagbladet. "Pedersen and Vingegaard are, without a doubt, big names to have, but currently we don’t have the budget for them. The perfect scenario for us is to develop a rider ourselves who can win big races. You can always buy in somewhere to increase your chances, but that comes with a price tag. We start in 2026 with the riders we have and see what is possible."
Thor Hushovd in conversation with WielerFlits reporter Youri IJnsen - photo: Ridley
According to the Norwegian newspaper, Vingegaard earns a salary between 4.2 and 5.1 million euros at Visma | Lease a Bike, while Pedersen earns more than 2.5 million euros at Lidl-Trek. "No, it’s not the case that Vingegaard’s salary is higher than our current wage bill. We have fifty riders spread across all teams; Jonas doesn’t earn that much. But if something like that were ever going to happen, the timing has to be right. I can say that Pedersen is my dream rider. I really love his racing style."
Hushovd admits he is somewhat biased because he recognizes himself in the Danish classics specialist. When asked if Pedersen is the potential star Hushovd hinted at earlier as a possible signing for 2027, he remains cautious. "That’s your wording... Our dream is to bring together the best Norwegian and Danish riders and compete in the biggest races on earth." Last week, the name Mattias Skjelomse was also already circulating in the rumor mill.
