-24°C and eyebrows turning to icicles: Andreas Leknessund trains in Arctic conditions

Being a professional cyclist takes plenty of dedication, especially in the depths of winter when riders are busy clocking training miles ahead of the new season. For Andreas Leknessund that dedication is really put to the test in his native Norway where he recently braved temperatures of -24 degrees Celsius out on a training ride.

The 24-year-old, who hails from the Tromsø region of Norway deep inside the Arctic Circle, shared a video to his Instagram account of his Wahoo head unit during the ride, which displayed the extreme temperature.

© Instagram / Andreas Leknessund

Andreas Leknessund braved extreme temperatures on a ride

Clearly used to and prepared for the conditions, he was wrapped up in his dsm-firmenich kit - which will soon change to the colours of Uno-X for the new season - but it wasn’t enough to completely protect him from the conditions, as he panned the camera around to show icicles that had formed on his eyebrows.

If there was a league table for dedication, Leknessund would surely top it for this effort as we’re sure many cyclists would have opted to stay indoors for a turbo training session instead.

Not the Norwegian, though, who even took the opportunity to quip, “Watopia? Never heard about,” in reference to the popular training world on indoor cycling app Zwift.

©Instagram / Andreas Leknessund

Leknessund had icicles on his eyebrows

The Norwegian’s ride is the latest in a long list of the unexpected things we’ve spotted riders doing this off-season, but none can match these on-bike exploits.

• Read more: From sold-out shows to survival skills: The unexpected things pros are doing this off-season

Leknessund’s impressive winter preparations come at the end of another successful season. While he didn’t manage to pick up any wins, the promising 24-year-old wore the pink leader’s jersey at the Giro d’Italia for five days before eventually finishing eighth overall.

That was achieved in the colours of dsm-firmenich but his three-year stint with the Dutch team will soon come to an end, having agreed to return to Uno-X on a three-year contract for the 2024 season. It means he will be reunited with the team having ridden for its development squad between 2018 and 2020.

What's the most extreme conditions you've ever ridden in? Let us know in the comments.