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U23 time trial champion Søren Wærenskjold rejected UAE Emirates contract, says "You would rather make the morally and ethically right choice"Soren Waerenskjold wins 2022 UCI U23 TT World Championships (Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

U23 time trial champion Søren Wærenskjold rejected UAE Emirates contract, says "You would rather make the morally and ethically right choice"

The Norwegian cyclist said that he chose to turn down the Emirati team's offer and "not put the salary above everything else", instead extending his contract with Uno-X Pro Cycling until 2026...
by Adwitiya Pal
Wed, Jul 12, 2023 10:34
7

Norwegian cyclist and under-23 world time trial champion Søren Wærenskjold from Uno-X Pro Cycling has said that he rejected UAE Team Emirates' contract offer, citing "moral and ethical choices" and "not putting salary above everything else".

The 23-year-old is signed to the Scandinavian team Uno-X Pro Cycling till 2026, and is currently riding in his first Tour de France. He also became the Norwegian national time trial champion, winning the competition by eight seconds last month.

Wærenskjold has revealed an interest from one of the biggest teams in the peloton, UAE Team Emirates, with the likes of two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogačar, Adam Yates, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, and fellow Norwegian Stake Laengen, only to name a few, in its roster.

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But Wærenskjold decided to turn the offer down, according to WielerFlits, instead deciding to stick with Uno-X, a team taking part in its first ever Tour, after a wildcard invite this year.

"You are tempted," says Wærenskjold about the UAE Emirates offer. "I know that Norwegians are not such a fan of the Emirates and such. Of course that played a part in my decision. You would rather make the morally and ethically right choice, and not put the salary above everything else."

"Moreover, Uno-X also made a good offer", says Wærenskjold. "So it was easy to accept. It's also nice to be part of an emerging team. 

"When they started in 2017, it was a small team. This year we are riding the Tour de France for the first time. It's great to be part of that development. The selection will probably be further strengthened next year."

The Scandinavian team was founded in 2010 as Team Ringeriks-Kraftand, before the Uno-X name change came in 2017. It was upgraded from the Continental to Pro Team status in 2020, and is currently 17th in the Tour's Team standings.

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Wærenskjold, who has been riding for Uno-X since 2021, took his first pro win at a stage in the Saudi Tour earlier this year.

Since then, he's won the ITT stage in the Baloise Belgium Tour, beating Soudal Quick-Step's Yves Lampaert. He finished second in the general classification behind Mathieu van der Poel and third in the points classification behind van der Poel and Fabio Jakobsen, and ahead of the current green jersey wearer at the Tour, Jasper Philipsen.

Wærenskjold's turning down of the Emirates offer means he'll most likely see out his contract at Uno-X, which he extended till 2026 in April. The team is marking a return of a Scandinavian team at the Tour de France after ten years.

> Uno-X announce exciting Tour de France lineup

After getting the invite from race director Christian Prudhomme, Uno-X's general manager had said: "We’re not in the Tour de France because we're nice people. We’re in the Tour de France because we have a very good cycling team, and that acknowledgement from the organiser is of course, enormous for Norwegian and Scandinavian cycling."

UAE Team Emirates
Uno-X Pro Cycling
Søren Wærenskjold
Adwitiya Pal

Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.

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7 comments

Avatar
greenthing | 9 months ago
1 like

Isn't there something ironic about "he rejected UAE Team Emirates' contract offer, citing "moral and ethical choices" and "not putting salary above everything else" and "Wærenskjold, who has been riding for Uno-X since 2021, took his first pro win at a stage in the Saudi Tour earlier this year."

He won't ride for UAE but he's happy to ride in Saudi, a far more repressive regime, and I presume he accepted his prize money 😂

Avatar
Brauchsel replied to greenthing | 9 months ago
1 like

"He won't ride for UAE but he's happy to ride in Saudi"

It didn't say he was happy to, but his job is riding for Uno-X to the best of his abilities, at the events it sends him to. 

I wouldn't work for News International, but when I worked in a supermarket I didn't refuse to sell customers the Sun or Times. 

Avatar
dubwise | 9 months ago
6 likes

Good on him, though these words could come back to haunt him.

There are not many teams that are "whiter than white", most have ethical issues.

Avatar
Brauchsel replied to dubwise | 9 months ago
6 likes

There's a lot of space between "whiter than white" and "sportswashing a corrupt, authoritarian, theocratic regime which has an appalling record on human rights". UAE isn't the only one in the latter category, but it's probably the worst until the Saudis get involved. 

I can choose e.g. not to buy an Ineos vehicle, and to say that it's a morally-bankrupt company which shouldn't be in business. If I was an Emirati, or one of the many near-slaves shipped in to the Emirates to do essentially all the work, I wouldn't have that luxury. 

Avatar
lifeonabike | 9 months ago
8 likes

well done that man!

Avatar
Matthew Acton-Varian replied to lifeonabike | 9 months ago
5 likes

Absolutely. It is far to easy to accept lucrative big money offers, even though greed may not necessarily be the motive. The family financial security, especially in sporting careers where you have an extremely long retirement, as opposed to the short term personal financial gain, is often the reason people accept those offers. But it takes a brave person to turn it down on moral grounds.

I will add a caveat, it is easier to reject offers when there are good and viable alternatives. He certainly feels at home and appreciated with Uno-X and they are both reaping the rewards of their partnership, so long may it continue. The team's start to their debut WT season has certainly elevated their profile and has certainly come as a benefit to the team.

Avatar
Simon E replied to Matthew Acton-Varian | 9 months ago
0 likes

Matthew Acton-Varian wrote:

The family financial security, especially in sporting careers where you have an extremely long retirement, as opposed to the short term personal financial gain, is often the reason people accept those offers.

It's not really retirement, they aren't actually retiring at 40. They simply have to leave the pro peloton and likely join what we might term 'the real world' (or perhaps remain in pro cycling in a different role).

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