KASPER ASGREEN THE RIDER

Kolding is a port in south Denmark, an old medieval city on the edge of the hilly landscape of Mid Jutland and facing the Kolding Fjord. It’s centrally located in Denmark, and because of its position Kolding has long been known for its trade and export industry. Goods have moved from these Jutlandic hillsides out into the world for centuries. Kolding is a place you travel out from and return to.

It’s apt, then, that this is the home of 26-year-old Kasper Asgreen, the professional cyclist and Tour of Flanders winner, but also a little unusual, historically speaking. Only five or six years ago, it wasn’t the norm for a professional Danish rider to live in Denmark. The landscape was perceived to be too flat and the weather too unstable, and that’s why for decades, Danish cyclists emigrated to warmer places, towards Italy especially, with many settling down around the Tuscan city of Lucca. But things have changed. Today, great cyclists like Mads Pedersen, Christopher Juul-Jensen, Jonas Vingegaard and Kasper Asgreen live in Denmark all year round. These four riders have all participated in leading Denmark to its current glory years of cycling.

Speaking to me over the phone from his hometown, Kasper Asgreen feels no doubt that the choice to stay among the people and the places he knows in Kolding has played a big part in his success and achievements

“I think not moving means a lot,”