Jonas Abrahamsen’s fairytale win at the Tour de France earlier this week wasn’t just storybook stuff for him but also his whole team – including a renowned triathlon coach.
Olav Aleksander Bu is best known for pioneering the ‘Norwegian Method’ which helped Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden to multiple world titles.
But last November he started a new job as Head Coach of Norwegian pro cycling team Uno-X Mobility, who are dedicated to nurturing and developing the talents of Scandinavian cycling.
‘A dream we’ve chased for years’
And on Wednesday in Toulouse, Abrahamsen got himself into a breakaway and then outsprinted Mauro Schmid in a dramatic finale to claim a famous win for them.
Abrahamsen looked a big doubt to even make the race, let alone bag a win, as he explained: “I broke my collarbone four weeks ago in the Belgium Tour. I was crying in the hospital because I thought I wasn’t riding the Tour de France.”
And for Uno-X this was a giant step forward – their first Tour success as well as the first by any Norwegian since Alexander Kristoff took Stage 1 back in 2020.
They are headed up by multiple Tour stage – and green jersey – winner Thor Hushovd. And writing on social media they said: “A dream we’ve chased for years. Now it’s real.
“This one’s for everyone who’s been part of the journey – what an adventure it’s been.”
Stepping stone
Bu has been on board since the end of last year and the team’s strategy at this year’s Tour was called ‘Project Breakaway’.
It came to fruition in spectacular style in Toulouse and it will be fascinating now to see if it acts as a springboard for success in the same way that Bu, ‘Big Blu’ and Iden transformed the triathlon landscape.
And Bu isn’t the only top triathlon coach involved in the Tour as Dan Lorang has been there for many years as Head of Performance at Red Bull – BORA-hansgrohe.
Lorang of course has an unrivalled record in middle and long-distance triathlon through the likes of Jan Frodeno, Anne Haug, Lucy Charles-Barclay and now Taylor Knibb.
We messaged Olav to ask him about the significance of the win and he told us: “To be earnest I haven’t thought much of it that way, as my focus is on the remaining ~50% of the tour, which in reality is more 60-70% as fatigue creeps in.
“A stage win was one of the targets for this tour. Jonas delivered a fantastic win, and we had a good 4th today [Thursday] with Tobias [Johannessen], who is high in the GC now as well.
“In the end, as many have said before, this is a team victory, and we wouldn’t have been here today without the incredible culture that is in this team :)”
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