Decathlon CMA CGM sprinter Tobias Lund Andresen has been one of the signings of the season in 2026, and on Friday, he'll be eyeing up a rare opportunity to take the first pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia in Bulgaria as the not-so-dark horse second favourite behind Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).
And as he lined up at the mixed zone two days before the race's start in Burgas, it was understandably his prospects for the opening sprint in Bulgaria's fourth-biggest city itself that were on the minds of both the Dane and those interviewing him.
But amid the typical hopeful quotes ahead of a sprint stage and admitting that "The roads are maybe not the nicest" in the Grande Partenza's foreign host, Lund Andresen did reveal his slightly unorthodox knowledge of Bulgaria as a nation, which stems from reality TV viewing in his native Denmark.
"Bulgaria is really famous in Denmark because we had a reality show called Sommer i Sunny Beach with… I don't know if I'll hurt anyone, but not the smartest people," said an upbeat Lund Andresen to Cyclingnews on Wednesday.
"They come here to party, and it's great for TV, so we have a couple of Danish bars as well on the beach, so everyone knows about Sunny Beach, Bulgaria in Denmark."
But with his serious hat back on, the Dane is ready to take on Milan and the rest of the sprint field, with other big names including 10-time Grand Tour stage winner, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep).
He's also already beaten Milan in a flat finish this year, winning stage 3 of Tirreno Adriatico back in March, before he embarked on a very impressive Classics campaign, taking 13th in Milan-San Remo, sixth at E3 Saxo Classic and second at In Flanders Fields – the renamed Gent-Wevelgem.
Lund Andresen returned to racing at Eschborn-Frankfurt ahead of the Giro, his third Grand Tour appearance, but he's raring to get started in pursuit of a maiden win at one of cycling's prestigious three-week races.
"I think I've bridged the gap from the Classics to here pretty well. I had more time than most; my last race was in Dwars before Frankfurt last week, so I think I've had enough time to have a mental reset and get ready for the Giro," said the Dane.
"My confidence has gone up a lot this year. I think as a sprinter, you need confidence, because it can give you that extra 5-10% in a race, and it's for sure gone up.
"Beating those best guys in a race like Tirreno, including Jonathan Milan, who is probably a bit faster than me on the flat, it definitely makes that confidence high, not just for me, but for the whole team."
His previous best results at Grand Tours include a third-place finish on a stage of last year's Tour de France and fifth on a stage of his debut Giro appearance in 2024, but with the form he's shown this season, at least one stage win certainly looks possible, even likely. Whether that arrives on day one is yet to be seen, but don't be surprised if he blasts past Milan to the line.
"It's not often you get a chance to get the pink jersey, or yellow in one of the Grand Tours, so I think everyone here with a sprinter is eyeing that chance at getting the leader's jersey," he said, still obviously modest but aware of what red-hot form he's in. "I think I'm one of those guys with a good chance."
He's seemed to make a huge step up since departing Picnic PostNL for the French squad, and while he couldn't pin it down to one thing – with the natural improvement of a 23-year-old sprinter finding his way in the peloton being an obvious other factor – there were some clear areas he noted.
"I'm maybe not the right guy to ask as I've only just joined the team this year, but coming from a different team for sure, the bike is super fast, I really like the management here because of their huge ambition, and my teammates are super strong," Lund Andresen told Cyclingnews. "But it's not only that, when something isn't good enough, the team are also on it with making changes and investing money into that."
Whatever the mixture of things that has done it, what's certain is that having jumped from 57th in the UCI rankings in December of last year to 17th on the eve of the Giro d'Italia, Lund Andresen, as one of the revelations of 2026, looks ready to take the next step on the Grand Tour stage.
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