Jumbo-Visma has added another talented young Scandinavian rider to the development program, with 16-year-old Håkon Eiksund Øksnes being the latest Norwegian to join their youth and the path of development.

Øksnes may ride for 2 seasons at JEGG-DJR Academy under Jumbo-Visma and then proceed to the Jumbo-Visma Under23 Development squad.

Former junior world champions Perstrand Hagenes and Johannesstown Mitte will cut their teeth in the U23 Jumbo Visma team and step up to the World Tour team in 2024. In 2023, Hagenes won the Sparcassen-Münsterland Giro solo, his first professional victory.

Major WorldTour teams are looking for talented young riders at an earlier age than ever before, offering them a path to development and professional careers. However, some teams are concerned about teenagers turning professional, calling for the uci to impose a spell of at least one year as a rider under the age of 23.

AG2R-Citröen approached Øksnes before Jumbo-Visma, but the Scandinavian connection of the Dutch team helped him win the race to sign him in the long term.

Øksnes is not guaranteed an automatic ride to WorldTour, race results are still essential to his ascension through the ranks, but he is considered a future talent. At the age of 15 and 16, he won the Nordic Ski World Championship road race and won all events.

"Very good. I always had dreams of riding for the team. This is very big," Øksnes told Norwegian broadcaster TV2, which first reported the move.

"You almost run out of words. If you look at all the other Norwegian riders who have been very successful there, you can gain a lot of confidence in their system.

"Both Hagenes and Staune-Mittet have had a lot of wins and the team has Jonas Vingegaard (Dane), who has won all 3 weeks of big races this year. So it looks very good.

The signing of Øksnes is a sign of Jumbo-Visma's continued desire to invest in Norway's best young riders and join the Scandinavian team Uno-X. 10 youth Jonas kind Høydahl and Jorgen Nordhagen. It is part of the 2024 development team roster.

The teenager began riding for the ntg Lillehammer team this fall, where Staune-Mittet and Nordhagen also came through under the guidance of coach Evenrøed.

Robert de Groot, head of the Jumbo-Visma development team, explained that adding Øksnes to the setup was easy given his early scouting.

"We also have a large scout network in Norway and we have a direct line to Røed," De Groot said.

"That way you can communicate about young and talented riders. Håkon was mentioned at a very young age, and we believe he has great potential.

"It was really a very easy decision to make because we also saw his number and talked to a lot of people around him.

Going to WorldTour, where Øksnes is reported to have been changed to Visma, the team could have a different name - leasing a bike for the 2024 season.

Many of the best Danish and Norwegian rides for the Uno-X team, but TV2 reported that Øksnes was not the team's goal for Jens Haugland because of his young age.

"In my experience, we need to be more careful than ever when identifying 15-16 year olds as future professionals," Haugland said.

"We represent a philosophy that young boys and juniors should enjoy in their playing field without being cornered by agents or others.

"Uno-X cannot claim the rights to all the great Norwegian and Danish talent, and to be completely honest: I think we will see more stories in the coming years about riders who choose Uno-X between the ages of 16 and 17, perhaps a little too early.”