Asbjørn Hellemose is preparing for the new season, which will see him back in the lineup Jayco-AlUla. The Dane will try to follow up on the decent things he showed in the first half of the season just ended, which also brought with it a terrible moment. Hellemose was in fact a great friend of Samuele Privitera, the rider who was part of the Hagens Berman Jayco (the youth group linked to the Australian WorldTour) and who tragically lost his life following a racing accident which occurred during the Valle d’Aosta Cycling Tour 2025.
“It’s no secret that for me the last part of last season was incredibly hard – the words of Hellemose in an interview given to Tv2 – After Samuele’s death I was shocked, but I continued to go to the races. But if you are sad and dejected for a long period of time, you certainly can’t do good things while riding a bicycle. It all happened suddenly. One day you have a friend and the next day that friend goes to a bike race and never comes back. There were times when I was sad about what had happened and other times when it didn’t even feel real.”
Hellemose and Privitera often trained together on the roads of Liguria: “When you travel so many kilometers together with a person, you end up bonding a lot – adds the 26-year-old Dane – He was younger than me, it was a sort of relationship between an older and younger brother. Then, suddenly, he was no longer there. It’s very hard to absorb. You also have to face the fact that someone died in a cycling race and that someone could have just as easily been you. Also, it happened to a friend of yours. I don’t think I’ve ever been this bad“.
Hellemose will do everything to remember Samuele Privitera and to keep his memory alive: “I dream of winning a race, so that I can dedicate the victory to him – the words of the Nordic runner – I don’t want him to be forgotten and to end up becoming one of the many who lost their lives on bicycles. I want him to be remembered for the beautiful person he was, full of energy and without any ounce of malice. I think it’s a process I’ll have to go through, to be able to say goodbye to him in the right way.”
The 26-year-old Dane, who also has a past in the Swatt Club, adds: “I know that Samuele wouldn’t have wanted me to sit still and sad, closed in on myself. Samuele would have wanted to see me do well, just as I would have liked to see him go far with his cycling career. Often, when I go out to train, I have it in mind. But it takes time and strength for this memory to give you something positive.”
For next Saturday, January 3, Asbjørn Hellemose has organized a ride in memory of Privitera, called “Ride for Privi”. The appointment is on the roads of Liguria on which Samuele grew up: “I hope there are many people who will want to join us in remembering him“.
