Uno-X Mobility have become the first team to announce their full eight-man Tour de France squad for the 2024 edition, with Magnus Cort and Alexander Kristoff as headline riders.
Joining them at the Florence Grand Départ on June 29 will be Jonas Abrahamsen, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Rasmus Fossum Tiller, Søren Wærenskjold, Johannes Kulset and Odd Christian Eiking.
It’s the second appearance at the Tour for the Norwegian team. A combative first attempt in 2023 saw them take 11 top 10 finishes and finish in the top three on two occasions thanks to great breakaway efforts.
They will again target stages in the sprints through veteran and four-time stage winner Alexander Kristoff, while riders like Cort will seek opportunities elsewhere.
“The team was well noticed during last year's Tour de France, achieving 11 top-ten finishes. We have now assembled a team that we believe can take another step up from last year,” said team General Manager Thor Hushovd in a team release.
“Our focus in the team selection has been to find a good combination of lead-out skills, climbing skills, and general riding strength. The riders we have selected complement each other very well, and I am confident that we will make our mark on several stages throughout the race.”
Uno-X Mobility are approaching the Tour in a rich vein of form after doubling their win tally on the season from five to ten in June. New signing for 2024 Cort also took the team to new heights and netted their first WorldTour victory on stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné with a powerful uphill sprint ahead of Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe).
This was preceded by Kristoff and Abrahamsen taking wins at Heylen Vastgoed Heistse Pijl and the Brussels Cycling Classic respectively and backed up by Wærenskjold taking a stage and overall victory at the Baloise Belgium Tour.
Abrahamsen, Tiller, Cort and Wærenskjold will make up the core of the lead-out train for Kristoff, while the climbing is led by Johannessen.
Johannessen was their most impressive rider in the mountains at the 2023 race with four top ten finishes, one of which was third on stage 6 to Cauterets-Cambasque from the break behind only Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The former Tour de l’Avenir winner will be backed up by 20-year-old climbing talent Kulset and Eiking, a previous wearer of the Vuelta a España leader’s red jersey.
“The sporting results in the spring season show that Uno-X Mobility belongs on the biggest stage in cycling. We are ready to show the world what we are made of, and I am really looking forward to following this year's Tour de France,” said Ole Robert Reitan, CEO and co-owner of Reitan Retail, which Uno-X Mobility Cycling is part of.
“The goal is undoubtedly that we will stand on the top of the podium in at least one stage of the Tour de France this year.”
