Visma's rising star Nordhagen impresses with 8th place in Romandie Queen Stage: "We were hopeful, but this was really impressive"

Nordhagen finished 1.17 minutes behind winner Lenny Martinez, but top riders surrounded the young climber. Sergio Higuita, Juan Pedro López, Remco Evenepoel, and Lennert Van Eetvelt all finished behind the super talent riding for the Dutch team. Sports director Maarten Wynants is, therefore, delighted with his protégé's performance. "We’ve achieved a really strong result," said the Belgian former rider on his team's website.

Van Nordhagen has been predicted to have a great future for some time now, but his breakthrough is (understandably) taking a while. His performance in the queen stage was a step in the right direction and far exceeded his team's expectations. "Of course, we were hoping Jørgen would deliver a good performance today, but finishing eighth in such a strong field is really impressive—especially considering he wasn’t feeling great the past few days. It’s truly a result to be proud of."

Visma | Lease a Bike started with a team with an average age of 24, including Dan McLay (33) and Julien Vermote (35). The young riders were given their chance in Switzerland and seized it with both hands. "With this very young selection, we managed to win one stage and showed our potential every day. It's great to see the riders progressing and making their mark in the WorldTour. There's certainly a lot of potential in this group." After a disappointing first few days, Nordhagen now holds 16th place in the GC.