Michael Valgren Hundahl (né Andersen; born 7 February 1992) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost.[6] In 2018, Valgren won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Amstel Gold Race.[7][8]

Michael Valgren
Valgren at the 2015 Tour de France
Personal information
Full nameMichael Valgren Hundahl
BornMichael Valgren Andersen
(1992-02-07) 7 February 1992 (age 32)
Østerild, Denmark
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10+12 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb; 11 st 3 lb)
Team information
Current teamEF Education–EasyPost
DisciplineRoad
Role
Professional teams
2011–2013Glud & Marstrand–LRØ
2014–2016Tinkoff–Saxo[1]
2017–2018Astana[2]
2019–2020Team Dimension Data[3][4]
2021–2022EF Education–Nippo[5]
2023EF Education–Nippo Development Team
2024–EF Education–EasyPost
Major wins
Stage races
Danmark Rundt (2014, 2016)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (2014)
Amstel Gold Race (2018)
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (2018)
Coppa Sabatini (2021)
Medal record
Representing  Denmark
Men's road cycling
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Flanders Road race

Career

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He became a professional in 2011 at the age of just 19 riding for the Danish continental team Glud & Marstrand–LRØ, where he won two editions of the U23 Liège–Bastogne–Liège and several other noticeable wins. He worked in the same fish factory as Jonas Vingegaard while pursuing a career as a pro cyclist.[9]

In 2014 he entered the WorldTour, when he joined Tinkoff–Saxo. He made an immediate impact, as he won the Danish National Road Race Championships and the Danmark Rundt.[10]

He has ridden the Tour de France 6 times (2015 to 2020) as well as the 2014 Vuelta a Espana. 2018 served as a breakout year seeing him win the classics Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Amstel Gold Race.[11]

In November 2020, Valgren signed a two-year contract with the EF Education–Nippo team.[12] He was added to the start list of the Tour de France for the 7th time in his career in 2021. In September, he won the Coppa Sabatini and the Giro della Toscana one-day races as well as the bronze medal in the UCI World road race championships.[13]

At the Route d'Occitanie in June 2022, Valgren was badly injured in a crash, sustaining a fractured pelvis, dislocated hip, injuries to the ACL and MCL and a damaged meniscus.[14] He was unable to race for the rest of the year, and moved down to the EF Education–Nippo Development Team the following year as he transitioned back to racing. He returned to competition on April 30, 2023 and soon after announced he would rejoin the World Tour squad the following year.[15]

Major results

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Valgren (front) riding in the 2018 Tour of Flanders
2009
2nd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships
3rd Overall GP Général Patton
1st Stage 1
6th Overall Trofeo Karlsberg
8th Overall Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt der Junioren
2010
National Junior Road Championships
2nd Time trial
3rd Road race
10th Overall Liège–La Gleize
10th Time trial, UCI Juniors Road World Championships
2011
4th Himmerland Rundt
2012
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs
2nd Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop U23
6th Overall Kreiz Breizh Elites
8th Overall Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay
2013
1st   Overall Flèche du Sud
1st   Young rider classification
1st Stage 3
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs
1st Stage 3 Tour de l'Avenir
2nd Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop U23
9th Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
10th GP Herning
2014 (2 pro wins)
National Road Championships
1st   Road race
3rd Time trial
1st   Overall Danmark Rundt
1st   Young rider classification
3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
4th Overall Tour des Fjords
4th Japan Cup
2015
1st   Young rider classification, Dubai Tour
2016 (2)
1st   Overall Danmark Rundt
1st Stage 3
National Road Championships
2nd Road race
2nd Time trial
2nd Amstel Gold Race
2017
2nd Overall Danmark Rundt
6th Overall BinckBank Tour
6th E3 Harelbeke
2018 (2)
1st Amstel Gold Race
1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
2nd Bretagne Classic
4th Tour of Flanders
7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
8th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
2019
4th Bretagne Classic
5th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
6th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
6th Chrono des Nations
10th Overall BinckBank Tour
2021 (2)
1st Coppa Sabatini
1st Giro della Toscana
3rd   Road race, UCI Road World Championships
4th Road race, National Road Championships
2023
3rd GP Herning
8th Coppa Sabatini
9th Japan Cup
2024
4th Road race, National Road Championships
8th Dwars door Vlaanderen

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

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Grand Tour 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
  Giro d'Italia 38
  Tour de France DNF 77 61 44 75 73 53
  Vuelta a España 128 33

Classics results timeline

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Monument 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Milan–San Remo 35 97 99 52 25 100
Tour of Flanders 11 4 102 21 DNF 36 45
Paris–Roubaix NH DNF
Liège–Bastogne–Liège DNF DNF 14 19 DNF DNF 58
Giro di Lombardia 40
Classic 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 30 1 45 21 DNF 67
E3 Harelbeke 6 14 39 NH 20 73
Dwars door Vlaanderen DNF 29 45 73 8
Amstel Gold Race 123 22 2 35 1 53 13 15
Bretagne Classic 45 16 33 2 4 22
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 125 99 9 19 Not held
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 33 23 8 5
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
NH Not held

References

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  1. ^ "Michael Valgren Andersen " Tinkoff-Saxo". Procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Michael Valgren og Jesper Hansen skifter til Astana" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Dimension Data finalise 2019 roster". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  4. ^ "NTT Pro Cycling Team". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  5. ^ "EF Education - Nippo". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. ^ "EF Education–EasyPost". UCI. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Uitslag – Résultat – Result" (PDF). KBWB-RVLB.com. Royal Belgian Cycling League. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Michael Valgren takes impressive victory at Amstel Gold Race 2018". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  9. ^ James Hilsum, Benoit Vittek (23 July 2022). "JONAS VINGEGAARD ON HIS FISH-RELATED JOBS THAT HELPED HIM PURSUE CYCLING AND TOUR DE FRANCE DREAM". Eurosport. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Michael Valgren - Tinkoff Saxo". Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Valgren: Dimension Data will shoot with one missile, hopefully that will be me". cyclingnews.com. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  12. ^ Benson, Daniel (13 November 2020). "Michael Valgren signs for EF Pro Cycling". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Julian Alaphilippe defends world title with stunning victory in Flanders World Championships". Cycling News. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  14. ^ Thewlis, Tom (31 May 2023). "'What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger' - Michael Valgren on getting through injury and returning to racing". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  15. ^ EF Education-EasyPost, Michael Valgren vede la luce dopo il tremendo infortunio dello scorso anno: il danese tornerà nella squadra WorldTour
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