Lars Petter Nordhaug (born 14 May 1984) is a Norwegian former

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most commo ...

, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2017 for the , , and teams.

Career

Early career

Nordhaug started his career as a

mountain biker Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, but after finishing 5th in the 2004 Norwegian National Road Race Championships, his focus changed towards

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

. His breakthrough came two years later, in 2006, when he won the national road race championships. This year was his breakout year, also winning Birkebeinerrittet, a Norwegian long-distance mountain-bike cycling race. In August 2009, Nordhaug scored a second overall finish on the

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland (Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. Th ...

while riding for UCI Continental team . This race was a three-stage event classified as

2.1 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale. The rating is represented by a code made of two or three parts and indicates both the type or style ...

. His victory in the undulating last stage carried him to that placing, after he got the best of breakaway companion

Russell Downing Russell Downing (born 23 August 1978) is an English former professional cyclist, who rode competitively between 1999 and 2019 for numerous teams, such as and . He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing, and both brothers competed ...

, who won the general classification.

Team Sky (2010–12)

After a week of rumours, it was announced on 10 September 2009 that Nordhaug would be joining from the 2010 season, along with fellow Norwegians Edvald Boasson Hagen and

Kurt Asle Arvesen Kurt Asle Arvesen (born 9 February 1975) is a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1998 and 2011. Arvesen is from Eresfjord, Nesset. He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships five ...

. Nordhaug spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons working mainly as a domestique, riding the Ardennes classics and the 2011 Giro d'Italia. He signed a new contract with Sky at the end of 2011. Lars Nordhaug of Sky

Nordhaug took his first victory for Sky at the 2012 Trofeo Deià, the third race at the

Vuelta a Mallorca The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca ( en, Tour of Majorca, ca, Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or earl ...

. He shook off the last contenders on the last difficulty of the day, before descending solo and crossing the line in

Deià Deià is a municipality and small coastal village in the Serra de Tramuntana, which forms the northern ridge of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is located about north of Valldemossa, and it is known for its literary and musical residents. ...

, registering his first victory since 2009. He also rode a good

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

event in

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, finishing fourth overall behind a strong podium composed of

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

(),

Pierrick Fédrigo Pierrick Fédrigo (born 30 November 1978) is a French former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2016 for the , , and teams. He was the winner of the French National Road Race Championships in 2005, and won four stages at t ...

() and his teammate Michael Rogers. Nordhaug led Sky at the Tour of the Basque Country, where he came sixth overall. His promising early season form saw him take a prominent role in the team's Ardennes classics squad. Nordhaug was well placed in the closing stages of the

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...

but crashed out in the final of the finishing climb, the Cauberg, after clashing wheels with 's Damiano Cunego. Nordhaug was not selected for the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

and instead rode the Danmark Rundt, where he won the third stage, to take the overall lead in the race. He took his biggest career victory to that point at the

2012 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal The 2012 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal was the third edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, a single-day professional bicycle road race. It was held on 9 September 2012, over a distance of , starting and finishing in Montréal, Quebec ...

, winning a sprint from a group of four riders after his solo attack was caught in the closing stages of the race.

Belkin (2013–14)

In August 2012, Nordhaug announced that he would leave at the end of the 2012 season, and would join on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.

Return to Sky (2015–16)

Tour de Suisse 2015 Stage 1 Risch-Rotkreuz (18953322146)

At the

2014 UCI Road World Championships The 2014 UCI Road World Championships took place in Ponferrada, Spain, from 21 to 28 September 2014. The cycling championships consisted of 12 events for elite, under-23 and junior cyclists. It was the 81st UCI Road World Championships and the s ...

, Nordhaug confirmed that he would be leaving . Team Sky later announced that he would be rejoining the team from 1 January 2015. He made history at the

2015 Tour de Yorkshire The 2015 Tour de Yorkshire was a cycling stage race that took place in Yorkshire in May 2015. It was the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire and was organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury Sport Organisation, who also organised the ...

, winning the inaugural stage of the new race from a breakaway of five riders. With that move, he took the leader's jersey and the points jersey, neither of which he would relinquish, to become the first winner of the race. This was also the first stage race won by Nordhaug outside his native Norway.

Major results

;2001 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Cross-country, UCI World Junior MTB Championships ;2004 : 1st MaillotNoruega

Cross-country, National MTB Championships ;2005 : 1st MaillotNoruega

Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships : 5th Overall

Ringerike GP Ringerike Grand Prix is a road bicycle race held annually near Hønefoss, in the region of Ringerike, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises t ...

;2006 : 1st MaillotNoruega

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st Birkebeinerrittet ;2007 : 1st Gjøvik GP : 4th Overall

: 5th Overall

Paris–Corrèze Paris–Corrèze was a road bicycle race held annually in France, usually between a department near Paris and the department of Corrèze. It was created by Laurent Fignon and Max Mamers. It was first held in 2001 and since 2005 it has been organ ...

;2008 : 1st MaillotNoruega

Cross-country, National MTB Championships : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Festningsrittet ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 2nd Overall GP Borremans Viane : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall Kalas Cup Trophy : 7th Overall

: 7th

Sparkassen Giro Bochum The Sparkassen Giro Bochum is a road bicycle race which is annually held for both men's and women's around an urban circuit in the German city of Bochum, Germany. Since 2005 the men's race is part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Cir ...

: 8th Overall

Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

::1st

Mountains classification : 9th Overall

;2009 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 4th Overall

Tour de Normandie Tour de Normandie is a road bicycle race held annually in the region of Normandy, France. The race started in 1939, but was not held in the periods of 1940–1955 and 1960–1980. It was originally a race for amateurs, but was opened for profess ...

::1st Stage 5 : 5th Overall

;2010 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT) Tour of Qatar : 9th Oslo Grand Prix ;2011 : 1st Tønsberg Cyclo-cross : 6th Coppa Sabatini ;2012 : 1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal : 1st Trofeo Deià : National Road Championships ::2nd Road race ::3rd

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

: 3rd Overall

Tour of Norway The Tour of Norway is a road bicycle race held annually in Norway. It is considered as a successor to the stage race Ringerike GP, which is now a one-day race. It was started in 2011 as a result of the heightened interest in cycling in Norway, m ...

: 4th Overall

: 6th Overall Tour of the Basque Country : 10th Overall Danmark Rundt ::1st Stage 3 ;2013 : 1st MaillotNoruega

National CX Championships : 1st Jersey red

Mountains classification,

Arctic Race of Norway The Arctic Race of Norway is an annual multiple stage bicycle race held in northern Norway. The first edition was in 2013, from 8 August to 11 August, and lasted for four days. The organising partners are Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Arct ...

: 2nd Overall

Tour des Fjords Tour des Fjords (known as the Rogaland Grand Prix until 2012) was a road bicycle race held annually between 2008 and 2018 in the region of western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atl ...

: 8th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal ;2014 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 1 ;2015 : 1st MaillotCyan

Overall

Tour de Yorkshire The Tour de Yorkshire is a road cycling race in the historic county of Yorkshire, England which first took place in May 2015. It is promoted by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and is rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tour. ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 1 : 10th Overall

;2016 : 6th Overall

: 9th Strade Bianche

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nordhaug, Lars Petter 1984 births Living people Norwegian male cyclists Olympic cyclists of Norway Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Cross-country mountain bikers Sportspeople from Tønsberg Norwegian mountain bikers