{"id":231012,"date":"2025-10-21T23:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/231012\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T23:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:00:10","slug":"by-2030-tadej-pogacar-wont-be-winning-the-tour-anymore-uno-x-set-sights-on-grand-tour-success-after-securing-worldtour-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/231012\/","title":{"rendered":"“By 2030, Tadej Pogacar won\u2019t be winning the Tour anymore\u2026\u201d \u2013 Uno-X set sights on Grand Tour success after securing WorldTour promotion"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFrom promotion to podiums\u201cDid I expect that at the start of the season? Promotion to the WorldTour was partly a goal, yes,\u201d Hushovd told Sporza<\/a>. \u201cBut in January we realised we were still a long way from actually securing a WorldTour licence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The turning point came during the final stretch of the year as Uno-X closed down a near 3,000-point deficit to Cofidis. \u201cTo be honest, we never really changed our strategy,\u201d Hushovd explained. \u201cWe didn\u2019t race to collect points \u2014 we raced to win. We proved that right up until the final day of the season, with Sakarias Koller Loland\u2019s victory at the Veneto Classic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his delight, Hushovd admits the news is also somewhat bittersweet. \u201cFor cycling, it\u2019s sad that a traditional team like Cofidis disappears from the WorldTour,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a real shame that we\u2019re losing two teams altogether, with the closure of Arkea – B&B Hotels and the merger between Lotto and Intermarch\u00e9-Wanty. The good news is that others are stepping up \u2014 like Tudor and ourselves \u2014 but the disappearance of those teams should be a wake-up call.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMillions of people watch cycling worldwide, and riders\u2019 salaries are high, yet teams still face sponsorship issues,” he adds. “The business model perhaps still doesn\u2019t work as it should.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"hushovd\"\/<\/p>\n

Hushovd is general manager of Uno-X Mobility<\/p>\n

Grand Tour ambitions<\/p>\n

With promotion comes guaranteed access to cycling\u2019s biggest races \u2014 but not necessarily all of them. As Hushovd explained, \u201cEach year, a WorldTour team can skip one race of its choosing. If, for example, you decide to miss the trip to China for the Tour of Guangxi, then you have to ride it the following year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if Uno-X had already decided which event to forgo, he said: \u201cThat\u2019s something we still need to discuss internally, but the plan is to ride all three Grand Tours next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s ambitions are now growing rapidly. \u201cNext season, we\u2019re targeting podium finishes in the major Classics and top-10 results in week-long stage races,\u201d Hushovd revealed. \u201cTobias Halland Johannessen already finished sixth at the Tour de France this year, but his preparation wasn\u2019t ideal because of a minor injury. With a perfect build-up, there\u2019s even more potential there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking towards the futureHushovd also singled out 21-year-old Johannes Kulset<\/a> as a rider to watch. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the riders who\u2019ll be able to test himself next year to see whether he has what it takes to ride for the general classification. Johannes showed this season that he can handle a heavy race schedule. He\u2019s mentally strong and unafraid to set himself big goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uno-X have built their project on a foundation of national talent, structured development, and consistency rather than flashy spending \u2014 and Hushovd believes the long-term vision can carry them right to the top of the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ultimate aim for Kulset and Uno-X is to deliver a Norwegian Tour de France winner,\u201d he said. \u201cWith ambition and hard work, a lot is possible. And by 2030, Pogacar won\u2019t be winning the Tour anymore.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From promotion to podiums\u201cDid I expect that at the start of the season? Promotion to the WorldTour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-231012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}