Embret Svestad-Bardseng has been fighting his way through the ranks, facing an uphill battle all the way so far. But to be fair, he’s a climber, so it’s no surprise he has handled every hill that has been thrown at him so far.
After being a pretty unknown first year U23 last season, he scored some nice results to end the year and Team Coop snapped him up for 2022. He’s been fantastic so far this season, even if there has been some downs, like a poorly marshalled corner preventing him from contesting a first pro win in a stage at the Tour of Hellas, or illness robbing him of his chance to compete in his first U23 race with the national team at Course de la Paix.
I chatted with Embret just after he completed his first race with the WorldTour pros at the Tour of Norway, so read on to get to know a very bright talent with a really cool career story better.
“The season has been OK so far, I had some problems with my knee before the first training camp in Spain. I didn’t have high hopes for the opening races in Greece but I got a stage podium and 6th overall. After that, I got sick but still helped the team win the GC in the Tour of Rhodes and also the Rhodes GP. After that, my form was starting to get really good and I was second in the Sundvolden GP and helped Andreas Stokbro to 2nd in the Ringerike GP. I felt good at the Hellas Tour but I was unlucky to crash out of GC on the first stage, but I then turned my attention to the KOM jersey and I could bring that home for the team.”
After being one of the unlucky members of the class of 2002, Embret lost his last junior season, and the chance to do international races and show himself to people outside of his home nation. He talked about his rise up the Norwegian ranks, and the mentality this fight has given him.
“2020 was a complete struggle as a second year junior due to the pandemic. I had no races with the national team to show myself and no one knew me outside of Norway. Things then went pretty quickly in 2021. I found a team who could help me try and get to Continental level and I showed myself well in the last part of the season, especially with 2nd at Gylne Gutuer, and Coop gave me a chance. My mentality is always to try and outwork the others, and if you do that, the results will come. So I will try and take my opportunities when they come.”
It says a lot about this rider’s high expectations of himself that he sounds a little disappointed with 18th on GC in his first race against the pros. But he set high aims, and realised quite quickly how much higher the WorldTour level is.
“My first goal was to be the best Conti rider, unfortunately Mathias Bregnhoj just beat me. I wanted to try and not lose time on the early stages and see what I could do on the queen stage and on GC. The top ten overall was the dream, but I quickly saw how hard that would be to achieve. It was my first race with the WorldTour riders and I can’t expect too much. The team didn’t get too much respect when we tried to be at the front, and we had to use more energy every day when things happened.”
But Embret will get another shot at the WorldTour guys very soon, as the Arctic Race of Norway highlights the next part of his season.
“My next race looks like the nationals. Then, I will do Tour te Fjells on the Norwegian Cup and then the Arctic Race of Norway, which again will have a lot of WorldTour competition. Then some UCI races in both Norway and Belgium.”
When it comes to setting goals for the Arctic Race, the 19-year-old is clear: he wants to keep improving and wants to better what he did at the Tour of Norway.
“That depends of course, but I will start with the aim of bettering my result in the Tour of Norway. I think the level, albeit slightly, is lower than in that race, so it’s perhaps more realistic to aim for the top ten. I want to show myself in the harder stages. I’d also like to make the Norwegian team for l’Avenir, that’s a big goal and a race I think can suit me very well, but I need to do well beforehand and show myself in order to get selected.”
Svestad-Bardseng admits that while he thinks his answer to the dream pro win question may be common, the answer truly is the true one for himself.
“It’s maybe the boring answer as a lot of guys say it, but growing up it was the Tour de France. It’s my dream to win a stage there and to be up there with the big dogs. I have to say the Tour.”
I’ve been really impressed by Embret this season, and I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what he can be. I see no reason why he can’t be up there as part of his strong generation of Norwegian climbers like Foss, the Johannessen twins, Staune-Mittet, Kulset and Nordhagen. He belongs with the best and I can’t wait to follow his career in the coming months and years.
U23 Cycling Zone wishes to thank Embret for taking the time to answer my call, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season and beyond. I also wish to thank Tore at Team Coop for coordinating the interview. You can find Embret’s Twitter and Instagram linked.
U23 Cycling Zone 