Will the most successful winter Olympian soon join the cycling peloton?
Those who watched the Olympic Winter Games last week saw the name Johannes Høsflot Klæbo appear regularly. The 29-year-old Norwegian is a phenomenon in cross-country skiing and, with nine gold medals, now the most successful Winter Olympian. And we will likely see this Klæbo soon in the... cycling peloton.
Marit Bjørgen, Bjørn Daehlie, and Ole Einar Bjørndalen are living sports legends in Norway and have been highly successful in past Winter Olympics, but Johannes Høsflot Klæbo can certainly now be placed in this lineup. Not only because of his 97 individual wins in World Cup races, five overall World Cup titles, and 14 world championships, but also (or especially) because of his many Olympic gold medals.
In the mountainous surroundings of Milan, he made Olympic history over the past days by securing no less than four gold medals in cross-country skiing. Klæbo’s tally now stands at nine gold medals: no other Winter Olympian has ever done better. And it may not stop there, as the Norwegian phenom will still compete in the team sprint (Wednesday) and the 50-kilometer mass start (Saturday).
Strong connection with Uno-X Mobility
In short, Klæbo has pretty much conquered cross-country skiing, but the sacred fire still burns brightly in the top athlete born in Trondheim. So a transition to cycling seems to be the next step. Why? This is all tied to his strong bond with Uno-X Mobility. The Norwegian cycling team has been a private sponsor of Klæbo since 2020, who, in turn, exchanges his knowledge of training and nutrition with the cycling team.
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And it didn’t stop there, as the cross-country skier has also been out on the road with the team during the reconnaissance of the Tour of Flanders and was spotted last summer in the Uno-X Mobility team car during the Tour de France.
At that time, he also spoke publicly for the first time about his cycling ambitions. “First come the Olympic Games. After that, I will really think about what I want to do. Maybe signing with Uno-X is my next goal,” he hinted at a career switch.
Thor Hushovd, the team manager of Uno-X Mobility, definitely considers a scenario in which Klæbo makes the move to road cycling and joins his team. “It’s true that I have ridden with Klæbo. This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve done this,” the former rider said last year in an interview with Rai Sports.
“I can tell you that he is truly exceptional. His performances are exceptional too, but that’s no surprise considering his outstanding record in cross-country skiing. Whether he can and will race with us? At this moment, I would say the chances are fifty-fifty.”
