Nordhagen at peace with second place in O Gran Camiño and quickly turns to next challenge

Nordhagen started the week in Spain in excellent fashion with an impressive fourth place in the time trial. In the mountain stages, the 21-year-old lightweight consistently showed himself near the front, finishing sixth on stage three before taking second place in each of the final two stages. In the final stage, he could not prevent Alessandro Pinarello of NSN Cycling from taking the victory, but he did keep the Italian behind him in the general classification.

Visma | Lease a Bike enjoyed an excellent week as a whole. The team may not have taken a stage win, but five of its six riders were aged 23 or younger. Anton Schiffer, at 26, was the most experienced rider by age, although he only recently stepped up from a continental team. With five riders inside the top 40 of the general classification, the young squad made a very strong impression in Spain.

“It’s great to finish this week on the podium,” Nordhagen said afterward on the team's website. “It was a tough stage to close out the race, but we were well prepared. The guys did an excellent job throughout the stage, allowing me to start the finale as fresh as possible. In the final kilometer, Pinarello made a very strong move. I tried to follow, but second place was the best possible result for me today.”

The young climber will now quickly turn his attention to a new challenge. On April 28, he is scheduled to start the Tour de Romandie, where he already impressed last year by finishing thirteenth overall. Before that, though, he will appear in the Ardennes. On Wednesday, he is set to line up at La Flèche Wallonne.

“I’m ending this week with a good feeling,” Nordhagen added. “I’m looking forward to La Flèche Wallonne and the Tour de Romandie.”