Heading into the three-week Italian race four months ago, the Jumbo-Visma rider had a blast at altitude. He was therefore far from chaining the edifying 9th place in the summary of the same race the previous year – even if he had been rewarded with the responsibility of captain in the prestigious race.

Since then it has been relatively quiet from the 25-year-old Vingrom player.

Watch the rhythm of the toilets on TV 2 Play: Andreas Leknessund will leave at 06.38 and Tobias Foss at 08.03.

Apart from the NM in June – where he became the Norwegian sprint champion – Foss has only run three races after finishing the Giro.

And most troubling: a month ago, he had to take another break from training to start again.

– It stung a little, he admits to TV 2 from his hotel bed in Gerringong, Australia.

– Struggling to stay awake

There he is in place to recharge for the pace of Sunday’s World Cup – where he will leave for Norway with Andreas Leknessund.

– I try to stay awake for life. The internal clock has completely gone off the rails, he says, smiling.

Foss arrived in Australia earlier this week direct from Canada, where he has been in good form as an assistant to teammate Wout van Aert.

It’s a feeling that was rare earlier this season.

In fact, the Jumbo-Visma rider was supposed to take part in the Vuelta a Espana, which ended last Sunday. But before that, he took on a new caramel high.

– Until the NM it went well, but when I trained for the vuelta, the same thing happened as before the giro. The body simply locked up. He entered a dead end. I pushed hard in training for a few weeks, but my body wasn’t behaving normally. The recovery was a bit slow. Since it was the second time, I pulled the handbrake.

Sent for investigation

Plans to take part in the three-week Spanish race were canceled and Foss was sent for examinations.

– We did some tests to find out what caused the problems. The conclusion was that the body needed extra rest. It was just an overload. Even though it was embarrassing to throw in the towel, it was necessary, he realizes.

Foss attributes it to overzealousness.

– It was the same before the Giro. As it was a big goal for me, I pushed too hard. Then there was additional pressure on the body. When the giro fell through, the vuelta became a big goal. Then I became too impatient again. It’s annoying that it ends like this, but I’ll survive this too, said the sensible biker.

TV2 cycling expert Magnus Drivenes had high expectations for Foss ahead of this season and sympathizes with the rider who is in his third season with the big Dutch team.

– 2022 was a year to forget for Tobias Foss. The fact that he has twice competed in the high jump shows how slim the margins are before he spills over into top-level sport. We can hope that Foss and Jumbo-Visma have learned from this for the coming year, he says.

At the end of the vuelta, Foss, a resident of Andorra, took a break from the bike to go back to the toilets.

– What measures should be taken to prevent this from happening again?

– You learn from the mistakes you make. It’s about being more careful when living at altitude and having a better understanding of how the body works. The body needs proper rest. You have to give the body what it needs and then it will fix the rest itself.

– Is it relevant to stop training at altitude?

– No, but you have to be more economical, answers Foss.

Aim for the top 5

After racing the Deutschland Tour and two races in Canada in recent weeks, he feels his body is fine again.

– It was fun to travel to Canada and help Wout van Aert, who was a big favourite. Then it is important that we who are around him are 100% ready for the task. It was good to see that the form is going in the right direction. It gives me a good feeling and a good start to WC.

This will be his first World Cup as a senior. It will follow both Sunday’s pace and the joint start a week later, where Alexander Kristoff is the captain of the Norwegian team.

– I think there were promising looks from Foss in the races in Canada, where he did a good job as an assistant driver for Wout Van Aert. Top 15 should be a goal, but on a good day he is capable of doing even better, but his form is a sticking point, says Drivenes.

The Wollongong Expressway is 34.2 km long. When TV 2 spoke to Foss, he still hadn’t come out and tested what to expect, but from what he’s read, he should be fine. It’s both hilly and technical, which can make it a bit difficult for Filippo Ganna (Italy) to clinch his third consecutive Worlds gold medal.

– I look forward to my first World Cup as a senior. I hope to be top 10, maybe even top 5 on pace. But there are a lot of strong riders at the start, so it will be difficult.