Rally Cycling has signed the talented Norwegian Kristian Aasvold for the 2022 season. The 26-year-old from Snåsa who joins from Team Coop is Rally Cycling’s first Scandinavian rider and the second non-North American to race for the men’s team.
Aasvold describes himself as a puncheur who is not afraid of the hardest races, favouring days with a succession of small climbs that end in a reduced bunch sprint. The Norwegian has had a year at ProTeam level before but makes the step back up the ranks following a successful 2021.
“It’s really exciting,” Aasvold said about joining the team. “Rally Cycling is really professional so it’s a great opportunity for me. I’m looking forward to meeting the guys and starting to work together to try and deliver as good a season as possible.”
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2021 was Aasvold’s most successful year to date and he excelled in both the Arctic Race of Norway and the Tour of Norway in August, two short stage races where he finished fifth and sixth overall respectively.
“You can always train to become better, but you need those hard races as well. Hopefully, I can take some big steps next year and get some results for the team,” Aasvold said.
The team’s long-time performance director Jonas Carney knows how to put a roster together.
“Kristian had a really strong back-end to the season and we were impressed by his strength,” said Carney. “We feel he has a lot of potential and we were looking for a punchy rider like him to strengthen the squad.”
Aasvold has a wealth of experience from his time on Scandinavian teams and previously raced on the Riwal Securitas Cycling Team with Arvid de Kleijn in 2020. The Dutch sprinter spoke to his returning teammate prior to his big move to a North American outfit.
“He [de Kleijn] said a lot of positive things and of course it matters that people you know well say that it’s a good team,” Aasvold explained. “I also spoke with Jonas about it, and again got the sense it’s a good environment – which is important for me.”
The team looks forward to having Aasvold bolster its ranks for the 2022 season. Keep an eye out for more rider announcements over the coming weeks.
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