The Vuelta a España seems to throw up revelatory results every year, and the 2019 edition was no exception. Carl Fredrik Hagen (Lotto Soudal) was one of the standouts in September, finishing eighth in Madrid after his first Grand Tour.

The Norwegian, who stepped up from Continental Team Joker Icopal this year, was surprisingly consistent in his debut race, moving up to sixth overall in Andorra.

At the Tour of Guangxi, the final race of the 2019 season, Hagen said he was thrilled with the results of his World Tour debut, noting that he did not expect big results when he kicked off his campaign on the Tour Down Under.

"This season has been much better than I expected," Hagen told Cycling News in Guilin. 'It's my first year at the World Tour level, so this was a learning year. I wasn't expecting the results, but in fact the whole season has been great."

"The curve is still up and I'm happy with the season. I wanted to end on a good note and now I'm looking forward to next year."

Hagen improved as the year went on, which is unusual for a rider stepping up from the continental circuit to the top level. He finished in the top 20 at the Volta ao Algarve and the Tour de Romandie, was third in the final mountain stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné, finished in the top 20 at the Tour de Pollogne, and had great success in Spain.

Racing 21 stages was a completely new experience for the 28-year-old, who had been accustomed to four- to seven-day stage races during his four years with Norwegian teams Sparebanken Sør and Joker.

"Before the Vuelta I had never raced for more than eight days, so I didn't know what three weeks would be like. But before the Vuelta I said that if everything was 100%, a top-20 finish was possible.

"So 8th place is ...... I would have laughed if someone had told me that before the race. It's been a great three weeks for me and for the team. It's been a great start to my professional career.

A year ago in Lotto, Hagen showed glimpses of his potential with two eighth-place finishes in the Arctic Race of Norway and a fourth-place finish at last season's Tour of Norway. His goal for the future is to enter the overall classification in Grand Tours and shorter stage races, but he has also been spotted in one-day races.

"I want to be a GC rider, not only in one-week stage races, but also in Grand Tours. That's my big goal for the future. I want to do a lot of Grand Tours and week-long stage races next season.

"Certainly, I'm starting to think about next year. I haven't decided on the details yet, but as soon as this race is over I'm going to start making plans. I have the Olympics and the World Championships and those courses suit me very well, so those races will be important for me."

Hagen, who turned pro later than most, is hoping to make his way to the top as soon as possible. Given that he is already on a tremendous upward trajectory, it doesn't look like it will be long before he gets there.