Thor Hushovd waited beyond the finish in Foix to celebrate Torstein Træen taking the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, knowing it was a historic moment for Træen, for Norwegian cycling and for the Uno-X team.
Only three Norwegian riders have ever pulled on the yellow jersey, with Hushovd, Alexander Kristoff, and now Træen among them.
“I’m very proud of Torstein and the whole team because it’s always a dream come true to pull on the yellow jersey,” Hushovd said. “It’s a big moment for us, but this shows that if we do a good job, we can stand here and lead the Tour de France.”
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Some of the Uno-X Mobility riders celebrated under the podium area as Træen pulled on the yellow jersey.
“This is huge for the team,” Magnus Cort told Cyclingnews.
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“It’s the fourth Tour for the team, and we have the yellow jersey. It’s actually the first time I’m at the Tour with a team that has the yellow jersey. That makes it big for me personally, but it’s even bigger for the team.”
Træen is a very good climber, and so hopefully he will have a few days in the yellow jersey. We’ll do all we can to help him.”
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The 30-year-old Træen pulled off a similar heist at the 2025 Vuelta a España, wearing the red leader’s jersey for four stages and finishing ninth overall. Doing it once perhaps depends on some fortune; doing it a second time and at the Tour de France is a sign of talent.
He overcame testicular cancer in 2022 after an anti-doping test at the Tour of the Alps detected high hormone levels. In 2024, he crashed hard at the Tour and finished the race with a fractured elbow.
“I’m happy to perform so well in the Tour; it’s the greatest race in the world,” Træen said. “I’m grateful that the team gave me the opportunity to wear this jersey.”
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Træen joined the decisive breakaway of the hilly stage into the foothills of the Pyrenees, 5:06 down on Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The USA’s Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) was his nearest rival and biggest threat at 5:34 down on Pogačar.
The Californian could have become the first American to wear the yellow jersey since Greg LeMond, but Træen rode a smart race, controlled Quinn’s attacks and took advantage of Lidl-Trek’s determination to win the stage with Mads Pedersen.
“On the final climb, you just had to have the legs,” Træen explained.
“With the heat, you never know how your body will react. Once I got to that point, I realised that the possibility of wearing the yellow jersey was real, but I still had to cross the finish line.”
Træen now leads Quinn by 28 seconds, with Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), who was also in the break, third overall at 3:53. Previous race leader Pogačar is fourth at a significant 7:53. Pogačar has never been so far down on the yellow jersey.
Træen is expected to be able to defend his lead on Wednesday’s first sprint stage to Pau and on the mountainous stage 6 that climbs the Col du Tourmalet. He could stay in yellow deep into the second week, until the mountain stages in the Vosges and the high Alps.
“Step by step, year by year, we’re working hard as Norway and Denmark together,” Hushovd said of the Uno-X Mobility project.
“We have a different team compared to others. We’re a Scandinavian team with riders only from Norway and Denmark. That makes it more complicated because we can’t hire riders from many different countries. But it makes us very proud when we pull off a major goal like taking the Tour de France yellow.”
Uno-X Mobility also have Tobias Halland Johannessen, who finished sixth overall in the 20125 Tour and Jonas Abrahamsen, who won a stage in 2025. Træen went on to finish ninth overall at the Vuelta in 2025 during a two-season hiatus at Bahrain Victorious.
Husdhovd made it clear they are not done yet.
“It’s possible to support Tobias Halland Johannessen because he wants to do even better this year than last year. This jersey can help motivate the whole team. We know we can do much more and we want more.”
Team Uno-X Mobility celebrate at podium for teammate Torstein Traeen of Norway as the leader of the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
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