Edvald Boasson Hagen has spent more time in the gym this offseason after signing for MTN-Qhubeka. “My shirt is a little tight,” he laughs in an interview with Norwegian TV2.

“Last year, I weighed 73 kilograms, now I’m 78" says EBH, who did a lot of training. He no longer fits the jerseys he was given in November. “There is still some extra, but I’m going in the right direction. I hope it works and makes for improvement.”

After his promising early years at Columbia and Sky, the last few seasons didn’t go to plan for the Norwegian. Therefore, he chose a different training approach. He returned to his old trainer Fredrik Mohn. Along with him, the 27-year-old Boasson Hagen less trained on the bike.

“We have done more power, the core of my stomach and back. I also go skiing, something I had not done for 3 or 4 years. We're going to repeat the method of the past, so we'll see if it works,” said the strong Norwegian.

At Sky, he was forbidden to go skiing. “They have little knowledge about it and do not know how good it is as training. I do not know if the Africans knew more about skiing, but they at least say that it's good that I do it.” The ultimate goal is to get back the old Edvald Boasson Hagen. “That's the goal indeed. I want to win more than I have done in the past years.”