From the bike to the team car: Bugge and Bystrøm retire, but stay with Uno-X
Martin and Sven Erik are now retiring from proffesional cycling. Photo: Getty
Martin Urianstad Bugge and Sven Erik Bystrøm have both decided to retire from professional cycling after the 2026 season. Both will continue with the team as Sports Directors.
The duo from Rogaland both spent the final season of their racing careers together on the road for Uno-X. Beyond that, their routes through professional cycling have been very different. Now, however, they are taking the same next step.
Bugge has spent the last eight seasons inside the Uno-X system, joining the development team in 2018 and following the project all the way into the WorldTour. Bystrøm arrived ahead of this season after more than a decade racing at the highest level of the sport.
Neither will be leaving the team when they step off the bike. Both will move into Sports Director roles and start learning the job from the other side of the race radio.
“It makes me incredibly happy that I can still be part of this team. I feel privileged to keep working with so many talented people,” Bystrøm says.
“With the new role the team offered me, I’m really excited to start a new career,” Bugge adds
«Buggis» has always brought a smile!
Eight years in red and yellow
For Bugge, retirement closes a racing chapter that has been closely connected to the growth of Uno-X itself.
The 27-year-old joined the development setup in 2018 and has remained with the organisation ever since. Over those eight seasons, he has seen the project grow through several levels of professional cycling and eventually into the WorldTour.
“Half my life I have been a cyclist, and the last eight years have been with Uno-X. It has been an amazing journey, and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything,” Bugge says.
His path towards professional cycling was never particularly planned. He originally started riding because football was becoming too serious and “professional” — only to end up making cycling his profession instead.
The final part of that career proved more difficult. After iliac artery surgery in 2024, Bugge struggled to return to the level he wanted, and over time that affected both his motivation and the enjoyment he got from riding.
With a new opportunity inside the team waiting, he felt the timing was right to close one chapter and start another.
Gallery-photos: GettySports, Uno-X or private
Twelve years at the highest level
Bystrøm’s professional career started with a rainbow jersey.
He became U23 World Champion in 2014 and went on to spend 12 seasons in the WorldTour peloton before joining Uno-X Mobility ahead of 2026. During that time, he raced for several major teams and built up experience from some of the biggest races in professional cycling.
For the 34-year-old, the feeling that the time was right to stop has grown over the last few months.
“There is a time for everything, and lately it struck me that it might be best to stop while the game is still good,” Bystrøm says.
Becoming a professional cyclist had been a childhood dream, but after 12 years at the highest level, the demands of training, racing and life on the road had started to add up. With a wife and two young daughters at home, Bystrøm also felt ready for a different rhythm.
Looking back, he says the people and relationships from those years mean as much as the racing itself. Many former teammates and staff members have become close friends — relationships he believes helped make such a long career possible.
Gallery-photos: GettySports, Uno-X or private
Taking the experience into the team car
Their racing careers have given Bugge and Bystrøm very different types of experience to take into their new roles.
Bugge knows the Uno-X environment from the inside after eight years as a rider. He knows the structure, the culture and many of the riders he will now help guide from the team car. At the same time, he sees the move as the beginning of a completely new learning process.
“I hope I can use my experience and knowledge from being a rider in my new role as a Sports Director. I have a lot to learn, but under the wings of the excellent DSs we already have in the team, I know I am in good hands,” Bugge says.
Bystrøm, meanwhile, has spent more than a decade experiencing different teams, race situations and roles at WorldTour level. He hopes that perspective can be especially valuable when working with younger riders.
“I hope I can pass on some of my experience, especially to the younger riders, and help guide the team through different types of races that I have already experienced during my career,” he says.
Going directly from teammate to Sports Director is not something Bystrøm is worried about. With several DSs normally working together at races, he sees the first period as a chance to learn from the experienced staff already in place while continuing to work closely with riders he already knows well.
The last podium selfie for Bystrøm? Photo: Getty
Same team, new perspective
For both riders, being able to stay inside Uno-X makes the transition away from racing a little different.
Bystrøm says joining the team ahead of this season immediately felt familiar, despite never having raced for Uno-X before.
“When I signed for Uno-X, it felt a little like coming home. The Norwegian-Danish atmosphere in the team is something special, and you feel extra proud representing Uno-X Mobility around the world.”
For Bugge, that connection goes back much further.
“I am very happy that I can stay within the Uno-X family. I have already spent countless days on the road with this team, and now there are more to come.”
After years of seeing races from inside the peloton, Bugge and Bystrøm will soon experience them from a very different seat.
The colours, however, stay the same.
For more information, contact:
Henning Askjer Lefsaker, Head of Communications.