Kasper Asgreen signs for NSN Cycling

NSN Cycling have announced their third new signing for 2027 as Danish Classics specialist Kasper Asgreen joins on a two-year deal from EF Education-EasyPost.

31-year-old Asgreen has spent two seasons at EF after six seasons spent at Soudal-QuickStep, where he grew into one of the top cobbled Classics racers in the peloton. Highlights of his palmarès include the 2021 Tour of Flanders and breakaway wins at the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, plus the E3 Saxo Classic and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

He joins Colombian climber Santiago Buitrago and neo-pros Moritz Kretschy and Jens Verbrugghe on the incoming list for NSN, and team general manager Kjell Carlström said he is "exactly the versatile rider we wanted to add to our roster", adding that Asgreen should "make a strong impact as both a leader and a teammate".

The Finn noted that Asgreen will help guide the young riders on the NSN roster as well as assume a leadership role.

"He is a fighter – whether on the cobbles, in a breakaway, putting the hammer down on the front of the peloton, or racing against the clock. His aggressive, opportunistic approach has earned him victories across a wide range of races, and we are excited to see what he can achieve in the years ahead," Carlström said.

"Not only will Kasper's experience and versatility see him assume a leadership position in the team, naturally as one of our key riders for the classics, but I also see him playing an important role in guiding our young riders. They can learn a lot from a rider of Kasper's calibre and really tap into his racing know-how."

Asgreen said he'll continue to target the spring Classics, and we can also expect him to take on the Vuelta a España as he aims to complete the 'Grand Tour trilogy' by winning a stage at each race.

"I definitely still have multiple goals that I would like to achieve. The Classics are obviously very special to me. They are where I had my big breakthrough and are the races that I enjoy so much," Asgreen said.

"I think the team already has a good classics squad and there’s so much potential there to be successful. So I hope I can come in and help guide the boys and use the experience I have from winning some of the biggest ones.

"I already have a stage win in the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, so the next step would be to try and complete the trilogy, and I would love to do that with NSN. Beyond the classics and Grand Tours, one of the other big goals I have is the World Championships time trial.

"In 2021, I was two seconds off the podium at the World Championships, so I still have a score to settle there, and I would really like to get that medal at some point."

Analysis

Dani Ostanek

NSN aren't one of the first teams that spring to mind when you think of the better Classics teams in the peloton, so it makes sense that they are aiming to strengthen that side of the roster.

The team has a clear leader for the cobbles in Biniam Girmay, a former In Flanders Fields winner who was fourth at Dwars door Vlaanderen this spring, even if he has yet to challenge the very best at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Elsewhere, the team has Lewis Askey, 13th at Roubaix this year, and Hugo Hofstetter, fifth at In Flanders Fields a year ago, and several other support riders.

Asgreen's signing adds experience and know-how to the lineup, with 11 starts across Flanders and Roubaix under his belt, as well as several top results at the former – a second on his debut in 2019 and that famous win against Mathieu van der Poel in 2021.

He hasn't hit those heights again since, though there was a seventh place at Flanders in 2023 and last year's spring was ruined by a crash at Paris-Nice. But he'll slot in as a co-leader and secondary option alongside Girmay.

Replicating that 2021 triumph would be a dream outcome, especially against the current versions of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar. But if Asgreen's addition helps NSN come away from the next spring Classics season with some top-10 and top-five finishes, perhaps even a win at a smaller cobbled race, the move will be judged as a success.

For Asgreen, the move will come as a refresh after a challenging pair of seasons at EF. Of course, there was that Giro stage victory in Nova Gorica a year ago, where he left behind his breakaway companions with 6.5km to go after a crash in the peloton disrupted the chase behind.

But that win aside, there has been little else to cheer during his time with the US team. His top result in 2026 is a fourth place at the Danish National Time Trial Championships, and he may well have already raced his last for the team after injuring his shoulder in a crash at the Renewi Tour.

A move, then, looks best for all sides.

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