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Anne Dorthe Ysland: “I have always dreamed big”

Winning both the Norwegian title in the time trial and the road race, next to some national races, 2020 was a good year for Anne Dorthe Ysland. However, it wasn’t what she had hoped her last year as a junior rider would look like, as there were no international races. “I had high ambitions for the world championships”, she says. Next season Anne Dorthe will join Team Hitec Products. In this interview we speak with her about her last year as a junior, joining the team and more.

“I am looking forward to finally meet my teammates”, Anne Dorthe talks about her upcoming start with the team. “I think we will be a nice group of girls, that will have a lot of fun. Both on and without the bike. Of course, I also can’t wait to start racing and push my limits in the senior class. It’s a long time since I competed internationally, so that makes me even more curious for the season start. Since 2021 will be my first season as a senior, and the first year with a lot of international racing, I will experience new things all the time. I am really excited!”

Ambitious

The youngest rider of Team Hitec Products in 2021, is for sure not afraid to show her ambition. “I dream of a rainbow jersey in the future”, she already said when she joined the team. She now adds; “I have always dreamed big. Continuously having big goals and ambitions. I love to win, even if it’s a stupid running competition with my dad at the grocery store, hahaha. I think it is important to set yourself high goals. Then you have something to work for and big motivation. Of course, this requires that you can reflect on the work you put into it, but I truly believe it just makes you a better athlete.”

And as a junior, Anne Dorthe showed she can aim for good results. In the last race of this year’s Norges Cup, she beat all elite riders in September, winning the sprint for the victory from Vita Heine. “It meant a lot to perform well and it was really fun. It also gave me a lot of self-confidence and that is really important in this sport. However, I try to not focus too much on my achievements. It’s easy to lose focus. The most important thing for me is to focus on my development and my goal is to become a solid senior rider. I want to keep pushing my limits and do the good work that will, over time, make me better.”

No world championships

However, the 18 years young Norwegian cyclist did hope to show herself already on an international level, at the world championships. They, however, were cancelled for the junior women. “At first that was really disappointing. There is no doubt that it was one of my main goals this season. My shape was much better compared to last year and I had high ambitions. I wasn’t able to race international and get answers on my shape, which I think was really boring. However, I am only a junior and I have so many years in front of me! As I said earlier, I want to become a solid senior rider. Therefore this championship was, in the big perspective, only a step on the road.”

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At Team Hitec Products, Anne Dorthe finds herself a team where she has time to develop. She hopes for a normal season in 2021. “I cross my fingers that it will be a normal season next year. Because of Covid everything is very unpredictable and things turns fast. If we are lucky and the team is able to travel around racing, it will be my first year as a pro. I want to learn as much as possible. Both from my teammates and a lot of the experience from racing. Team Hitec Products has a great race program and I can’t wait to start racing. I also hope I can continue to develop my capacity, improving my FTP, and perform good in races.”

Norwegian cyclists

The winter might be a challenge, for sure for Scandinavian riders, who are in a country that is much colder than a lot of European countries. But that maybe also makes a different type of riders. “Due to our cold climate, I like to think that we are more robust, both mentally and physically prepared for hard and challenging environments. During the winter we train in all kinds of weather, and especially where I live in the middle of Norway, it’s a cold winter with a lot of snow. That means I spend a lot of time on my trainer, but almost every long-distance training I do outside on my cx with studded tires. And of course layers and layers with clothes, and my fleece neck warmer. That’s a must in Norway, haha.”

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