An impressive first-year record
It took him only two years – from 2024, when he became the team’s general manager – to take the team into cycling’s top level, the WorldTour. Even more impressive was Uno-X Mobility becoming the first cycling team to win stages in all three Grand Tours in their first year as a WorldTour team.
Fredrik Dversnes capped a remarkable breakaway on stage 15 of the Giro to notch the team’s second-ever Grand Tour stage win (Jonas Abrahamsen won a stage in the 2025 Tour de France); that was followed by Søren Wærenskjold’s surprise bunch sprint victory on stage 11 of the Tour; Andreas Leknessund then won stage 7 of the Vuelta, ahead of teammate Tobias Halland Johannessen, who capped off a marvellous season for Hushovd and his team by winning stage 21.
More than just the wins, Uno-X Mobility has livened up the peloton with their unexpected tactics, none more so than on stage 20 of this year’s Vuelta, when six riders for the all-Scandinavian team took off on a breakaway. The team had come up with this strategy during its morning meeting, and they then posted a clip of their tactical presentation that used a digital animation depicting their riders as sperm cells racing toward an egg-shaped target labelled “Brudd”, the Norwegian word for ‘breakaway’.
Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu
Unfortunately for the daring plan, the stage was won by Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), with Johannessen coming second – but he got even on the following day.
The 18 wins Uno-X Mobility registered during its first WorldTour season included a stage of the Tour of Oman and a stage of the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, the former Dauphiné. The team finished the year in 9th place in the UCI Technical Rankings, just behind Netcompany INEOS and ahead of far more experienced teams such as Soudal Quick-Step and Alpecin–Premier Tech. An impressive performance, especially because Uno-X limits its squad to riders from only Denmark and Norway.
But in 2027, there will be an American riding for Uno-X, Magnus Sheffield. But it’s fine: His first name is Magnus because his mother is Norwegian and he also has Norwegian citizenship.
And a first-time yellow jersey
Another 2026 milestone for the team was when Torstein Træen joined a breakaway on stage 4 of the Tour de France that finished 12:59 ahead of the indifferent peloton. He then finished eighth in the stage and became the first Uno-X rider to wear the race leader’s yellow jersey in the most prestigious of all races.
“It’s a big moment for us because we have a bit of a different project than others,” Hushovd said afterwards. “We are a Scandinavian team with a Scandinavian identity. Riders from only Norway and Denmark make the road more complicated because we cannot choose and pick riders from all different countries. Also, we have less [of a] budget. But if you do a good job, [do] things properly, then we stand here and we lead to the front.”
He went on to say, “We are not one of the biggest teams, this we know. So this is already a success. But I know, and we know, that we will do much more.”
They did do more, winning that remarkable stage 15, when Wærenskjold beat Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Premier Tech) and other top sprinters to the line to secure the team’s second Tour stage win. A delighted Hushovd welcomed the winner at the finish line.
But not everything went well. Træen wore the jersey for only two stages before crashing out of the race. He had worn the yellow jersey for four stages in the 2025 Vuelta after coming in second on stage 6, eventually finishing ninth in the GC. And Johannessen finished a disappointing 12th in the GC after failing to adapt to the unusually high temperatures.
A modest transfer market and a dream
Træen is 31, one of only six riders on the team 30 years of age or older. With an average age of 25.9, Uno-X Mobility is the sixth-youngest team on the WorldTour, which suggests they will only get better. Interestingly, the team has not been very active on the transfer market.
In addition to Sheffield, they have signed the all-rounder Casper Pedersen (from Soudal Quick-Step), 20-year-old Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Lotto Intermarché) and 22-year-old Kristian Egholm (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), this year’s Denmark’s time trial champion. A modest, but promising haul. But Hushovd is ambitious and has his eyes on a specific Danish rider whose coming to Uno-X – if he agrees to move – would be another momentous milestone for the team, Jonas Vingegaard.
“We have had some conversations,” Hushovd said. “What I don’t want to do with bringing in Vingegaard is pay his salary. It’s pretty hefty. But what could be possible is bringing in a Danish company that wants to connect itself with Norway.”
Uno-X’s 2026 budget was an estimated €20 million. Vingegaard’s salary with Visma–Lease a Bike is about €5 million. Hushovd still said that it would be “a dream” to sign him.
Of course it would be. Vingegaard’s contract with Visma–Lease a Bike ends in 2028, when he will be only 31, young enough for a Tour de France podium and perhaps another Vuelta or Giro win or three. More importantly, he would be an invaluable mentor to Hushovd’s young riders and help add superstar power to Uno-X Mobility’s evolution.