Tobias Halland Johannessen (born 23 August 1999) is a Norwegian road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeamUno-X Mobility.[1][2]
Along with his twin brother Anders, Tobias raced in mountain biking, cyclo-cross and road cycling, before deciding to focus primarily on road racing. Knee injuries had kept him from competing in much of the truncated 2020 season.[3] In July 2021 he named to the Norwegian team to compete in the road race event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[4]
Career
Johannessen began cycling alongside his brother Anders as a means of getting to school.[5] He initially focussed on cyclo-cross and mountain biking before switching his focus to road racing, signing with the Uno-X development team for the 2021 season. In June 2021, Johannessen finished second in the General Classification of the Giro Ciclistico d'Italia, as well as finishing second on two individual stages.[2] In August 2021, Johannessen won the Tour de l'Avenir after finishing first on consecutive summit finishes on Stages 7 and 8, winning the race by seven seconds over Carlos Rodríguez.[6]
Johannessen raced the 2022 Tour of Norway, in which he took the leader's jersey after the second stage[7] and eventually finished in fourth position, winning the Points classification.[8] He also raced the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné, in which he won the Young Rider Classification after finishing 10th overall, over a minute ahead of nearest challenger Brandon McNulty.[9]
He participated in the 2023 Tour de France, ending third on stage six, and top 10 on three additional stages.[10][11]
In one of his first races of 2024, Johannessen was close to winning the Classic Var, but mistook a metal gantry close the finish for the actual finish.[12] This led to Lenny Martinez overtaking him a few metres before the finish line, thus snatching the victory. In the run-up to Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, Johannessen was regarded by some as a contender to winning the General Classification.[13][14] He finished 4th on the first stage, but crashed on the second stage and fractured his collarbone.[15] Johannessen returned to racing in the Volta a Catalunya, two months later.
^Axelgaard, Emil (17 February 2024). "Optakt: Tour des Alpes Maritimes" [Preview: Tour des Alpes-Maritimes]. www.feltet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
