The Dane Rasmus Byriel Iversen and Norwegian Carl Fredrik Hagen will join the Lotto Soudal WorldTour team in 2019. The 20-year-old Iversen moves from the U23 team of General Store Bottoli and was able to win no less than seven races this season. The 26-year-old Hagen started out as a professional road cyclist at a later age, but already set some big steps forward over the past four years. The two talented Scandinavians are delighted to reinforce the Lotto Soudal team in the next seasons and are looking forward to chasing their dreams.
Rasmus Byriel Iversen (20): “I’m very happy to become part of Lotto Soudal! Every cyclist hopes to join a WorldTour team someday and now, this dream has become a reality for me. During my first year as a U23 rider I was part of the Danish development team Giant-Castelli. When the team quit in 2017, I moved to Italy, where I was able to break through as a young rider. This season I won seven races, of which two time trials. I’m a good time trialist, but it’s definitely not my specialization. If you have a lot of power, you’re most likely to be good at TT’s. Though, the more Classic races suit me better. I once finished in the top ten in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne as a junior. Belgium is definitely a special place for every cyclist and I love riding there. The way of racing appeals to me, just like the typical weather conditions do: I really enjoy racing in the rain.”
“I already won a race in 2017, but that wasn’t comparable to my victories of this year. The biggest race I’ve won so far, is probably the one in Tuscany. It’s a smaller version of the Strade Bianche, which Tiesj Benoot won this year. In Denmark, we have many gravel roads, so I used to train on them quite often. During the race, I attacked on such a road near Siena and did a solo of 60 kilometres till the finish line. Gravel roads have always been special to me, so I had been dreaming of this victory for quite some time. It’s also nice to know that many cyclists who now ride for WorldTour teams, like Gianni Moscon, also won the exact same race in the past. It’s a dream to one day win the Strade Bianche myself, so I’m looking forward to learning a lot from Tiesj Benoot.”
“I don’t know yet which role I’ll have within the team, but of course, I’ll do as I’m told: if I can help the team by pulling at the front for 100 kilometres, I’ll be happy to do so. Will I get the opportunity to take my chance in the future? Then I’ll do my very best to achieve the best result possible. Right now, the most important thing for me is to help the team and gain a lot of experience. It will be a whole new chapter and an entire new way of racing. It’s very exciting and I’m really looking forward to next season.”
