“That motivates me,” Hagenes explained. “In any case, it’s fun to ride around with the best riders in the world and see them shine. It shows that the team is smart, innovative, and that the training is at a very high level.”
Because the team is so loaded, the young Norwegian knows he has to make every single leadership opportunity count. He proved he could handle the pressure earlier this spring at the E3 Saxo Classic; with Van Aert sidelined, Hagenes took the opportunity and fought his way to a brilliant second-place finish behind Mathieu van der Poel.
“This season, there aren’t many opportunities left for my type of rider,” he noted. “But when you get a chance like that, it’s really nice to grab it in Antwerp, even if it might not be the absolute biggest race. When you can ride onto the podium in a race like E3, you know you are completely back. That gave me a massive boost.”
Per Strand Hagenes was second at the 2026 E3 Saxo Classic
The ultimate dream in Northern France
With a clean bill of health and the backing of his trainer, Hagenes is steadily evolving into the heavy-duty Classics rider Visma always hoped he would become. While the team is taking a patient, long-term approach with his development, the young rider isn’t hiding his massive ambitions for the future.
“I make no secret of it that my long-term goal is to win Paris-Roubaix,” Hagenes stated with total conviction. “If I succeed in that goal at some point in my career, it will be a massive success.”