Jacob Hindsgaul’s U23 career is only one full season in, but in my opinion, he has already staked a claim to being to the most versatile rider in the U23 peloton. Adept as a Classics rider and a climber, the Dane also won a flat prologue last season and possesses a fast finish too.
After spending 2019 with ColoQuick back in Denmark, Jacob has signed a two-year pro deal with Uno-X at the Pro Continental level, where he will mix U23 races with pro events, ensuring he is going to get the best possible cycling education.
I caught up with Jacob recently to get to know more about the 19-year-old, who is still awaiting his Uno-X debut due to the virus cancelling races.
“I came in to my first season as an U23 rider well prepared after a good winter, knowing I had improved a lot in those winter months, and I felt ready. The start of the season was really hard of course, and it was clear that I had a lot to learn, but still I kept surprising myself in every race, by discovering what i was actually capable of, both physically and mentally, resulting in some quite decent result as the season went on. Generally, I will describe my first U23 season as hard, but most of all filled with great experiences that I can take into future races, and not to forget a few good result that has given me a lot of confidence for upcoming races.”
Like I mentioned in the opening part of this interview, Jacob is really versatile. He won the Valle d’Aosta prologue, was just outside the top ten in both U23 Liege and Wevelgem, was 2nd in a reduced sprint at Tour de la Mirabelle and was 4th on the final stage of l’Avenir, ending on a 20km mountain. So what type of rider does Jacob see himself as? That is a question he cannot yet answer
“At the moment I think it is a really hard question to answer. I really try not to focus on just one thing like climbing or TT, but instead I try to improve on all of my different abilities as a rider, because I am still young and I think it is too early to decide what I am the best at. Instead, I try not to leave any of the things out, and at some point it will come naturally and I will have to chose a path to reach my full potential. But for now I try to develop as many of my abilities as a rider as I can, also because I love all the different aspects of cycling so much.”
When Uno-X were recruiting riders for their debut season at Pro Conti level, they recruited a lot of U23 Scandinavian riders, but no one is as young as Jacob on the Norwegian team. He spoke of his pride of being part of a pro team and getting the chance to race against the WorldTour’s elite.
“I am really proud to be a part of a team like Uno-X, with so many great riders and staff, at the age of 19. As mentioned, this means racing against WorldTour riders, which is a pretty wild thought to be honest! Sadly, I haven’t had the opportunity yet because of the current situation, but just the thought of it, is a bit crazy really. These WorldTour riders are the best bike riders in the world and I have watched a lot of them battling it out on TV many times, right from when I started. Despite this, I try to remind myself that in the end, they are just guys like myself, that enjoying riding their bike.”
As far as Jacob is concerned, there isn’t a better place he could be turning pro with, considering he has some teammates from ColoQuick joining Uno-X with him (including U23 Cycling Zone alumni Julius Johansen and Frederik Rodenberg), plus the Norwegian culture is pretty similar to that in Denmark, as Jacob tells me. He also will get to work with elite staff, including former Team Sky DS Kurt Asle Arvesen.
“Norwegian and Danish culture is quite similar in many ways, making the jump to Uno-X a lot easier than a lot of other teams I would imagine. At the same time, having four team mates from ColoQuick making the jump as well, is really cool. It is clear that we have some great people around the group of riders, like Kurt Asle, who has a lot of experience as a former top professional bike rider.”
I’ve been closely following the SEG eRacing Academy’s U23 eRace Series, which Jacob and his fellow U23 teammates on Uno-X are a part of (Jacob has a good chance to win the stage race later this month in my opinion). Jacob fully supports eRacing in these times, but has used it before the virus happened anyway.
“I think eRacing is a thing that is here to stay and is growing quickly. For myself, I use it in the winter to get some intense sessions leading up to the season or just to get a bit of competitive fun, but I rarely use it if the weather is decent, I do for sure prefer to ride outside. As long as it’s just for a bit of fun I’m cool with it and I think it’s great! I haven’t really done a lot of eRaces to try and compensate for the missing races, because the weather has been nice in Denmark for a long time and I don’t really feel like it makes up for any real racing anyway, so I just choose to ride outside.”
Jacob’s goals for the season have been thrown into the air as a result of the virus and races being cancelled, but he spoke about what he had planned for the season. Not all is lost, as some of his goals are, for the moment anyway, still forecasted to go ahead.
“My first big goal for the 2020 season was to be as sharp as possible for Liege-Bastogne-Liege and try to go for a result there, as it went well last year (11th, same time as 5th placed rider, ed.) and I think it’s a really cool race that suits me well. After Liege, there is a lot of great races with Uno-X and the national team that I would like to well in, but my second big goal for the season would be Tour de l’Avenir as it’s just such a good race to show what you are capable of, and it gives you multiple chances to make results, so this race will be the biggest goal for my 2020 season so I really cross my fingers that the race will take place! The last big goal will be the Worlds in Switzerland as the parcours suits me well and it’s always a special race to be a part of. I don’t have a goal of a specific result in these races but a goal to be the best I can possibly be when I’m on the start line for these races especially. So far it has worked at alright I would say.”
Jacob, like many riders and fans alike, dreams of winning the Tour de France. He of course admits how hard that will be, but for him no other race can compare.
“I have a dream of winning the Tour de France one day, maybe it’s a bit of a mouthful to dream about, but for me it’s just the coolest and most prestigious race you can win, any day of the week.”
It’s really hard to not be impressed with Hindsgaul, given what he has achieved already at such a young age. With his skillset and work ethic, his career could go in so many directions: Classics rider, puncheur, climber, stage racer, maybe even more. I think he is going to have an amazing career, no matter what direction he goes in. Remember the name, you’re going to hear it a lot in the coming seasons: Jacob Hindsgaul Madsen.
U23 Cycling Zone wishes to thank Jacob for taking the time to answer my questions, and we wish him all the best for the future. I also wish to thank Jens Haugland at Uno-X for coordinating the interview. Jacob has an Instagram account, which I’ve linked here, so give him a follow.
U23 Cycling Zone 