Why No Swedish Cyclists Are Competing in the Tour de France

This year's Tour de France features ten cyclists from Norway and six from Denmark, with Danish star Jonas Vingegaard being the biggest name.

The last Swede in the race is Tobias Ludvigsson, who participated in 2018.

Lucas Persson, Swedish national team captain for road cyclists, has several explanations for why Sweden has fallen behind compared to Denmark and Norway.

+ Agents

Swedish cyclists compete less internationally and have a harder time being seen. Then the agents have less knowledge of them. The agents also have good contacts in Norway and Denmark and can catch their talents. It can be warmer in the heart, for example, for a Danish agent, to choose a Danish cyclist. They often bet on their own nation because they know how the current cyclist works in the team. We have no Swedish agent, says Persson.

+ Young people

In Sweden, most young people choose to first focus on mountain biking and then switch to road cycling. In Denmark, young people start cycling on the road directly. It also has an impact when the teams nowadays start writing contracts with 17-18 year olds compared to 22-year-olds, as was the case earlier.

+ Economy

Norway's national road cycling team has three times the budget compared to Sweden. We need more money. We are behind the neighboring countries economically. A larger budget would give more Swedish juniors and U23 cyclists the opportunity to get out into Europe and compete in international competitions and thus have a better chance of being seen by the larger teams.

+ Stage race in Sweden

We need to have larger stage races in Sweden that increase interest for the public, young people, and sponsors. Previously, Sweden had major stage races like Postgirot Open. It is missing today.

What does the future look like? Lucas Persson believes that Jakob Söderqvist, 21, who lives in Falun but comes from Sundsvall, will be the next Swede in the Tour de France. Last year, he won the overall stage race Tour de Bretagne and took silver in both the U23 European Championship and U23 World Championship.

Jakob Söderqvist recently signed a contract with Lidl-Trek, which is one of the major teams in the Tour de France.