Date of birth : January 18, 1978, in Grimstad (Norway).
A brother (Ronny) and a sister (Hege).
Married with Susanne
Lives in Grimstad (Norway) and Gland (Switzerland).

Took up cycling at the age of 10.
Won his first race in Vårtråkken, a 5km time trial in April 1988, and continue to win every race he rode that season.
13 times unofficial Norwegian champion between the age of 10 and 16. There’s no official record of number of wins, however he nearly won every race he started.
1st year junior (1995): stage winner Tour of Frankfurt (world cup), riding for the Norwegian National team.
2nd year junior (1996): twice Norwegian champion (for road race and time trial), 10th at the world championship for time trial.
1st year Under 23 (1997): four times stage winner in the Ringerike Grand Prix (youngest ever winner of the race).
2nd year Under 23 (1998): world champion for time trial, winner of the world cup, winner of Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Tours and the GP Villers-Outreux; 2nd in the GP des Nations (time trial); 2nd in a stage of the Tour du Loir-et-Cher; 2nd in a stage of Montpellier-Barcelone (4th overall); 5th in the Tour of Sweden; 5th in the European championship for time trial; 7th in the Ronde de l’Isard.
3rd year Under 23 (1999): 22 wins including Annemasse-Bellegarde, GP Vougy, Tour du Loir-et-Cher (plus three stages), Ringerike GP (plus three stages), two races of the Mi-Août bretonne series and two stages of the Transalsace; 5th in the Ronde de l’Isard; 6th in the world championship for time trial; 11th of Paris-Bourges. Signed his professional contract with Crédit Agricole.
2000: three times stage winner in the Ringerike GP (2nd overall), stage winner in the Tour de l’Oise (3rd in the time trial), stage winner in the Tour de l’Ain and winner of the time trial in the Tour of Normandy; 2nd in the GP Denain, in a stage of the Bayern Rundfahrt (4th overall) and in two stages of the Tour des régions wallonnes; 3rd in the prologue of the Tour of Sweden and in a stage of the Tour de l’Avenir; 4th in the Tour of Syracusa; 5th in the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg (world cup); 7th in the Norwegian championship and the time trial in the Olympic Games in Sydney.
2001: winner of the team time trial in the Tour de France, winner of the Tour of Normandy (plus the prologue and a stage), winner of the Tour of Sweden (plus the prologue and a stage), winner of Paris-Corrèze; 4th in a stage of the Tour de France and in Paris-Tours (world cup); 5th in a stage of Paris-Nice; 11th in Ghent-Wevelgem.
2002: Norwegian champion for time trial, stage winner in the Tour de France and the Tour de l’Ain; 3rd in the Norwegian championship road race; 5th in a stage of the Tour de France; 18th in the Het Volk.
2003: stage winner in the Tour of Castilla and Leon, in the Critérium of the Dauphiné-Libéré, winner of the Grand Prix Jeff Scherens ; 2nd in a stage of the Tour of Castilla and Leon ; 3rd in two stages of the Tour of the Mediterranean and the Tour of Limousin ; 4th in a stage of the Tour of the Mediterranean, in a stage of the Tour de France (in Lyon), and in the points classification of the Tour de France ; 5th of the Tour of the Mediterranean, in two stages of the Tour de France (in Sedan and Paris), and in a stage of the Tour of Limousin ; 7th of the Tour of Poitou-Charentes ; 10th of the Grand Prix de Plouay.
2004: Norwegian champion for road race and time trial, stage winner in the Tour de France (in Quimper) and in the Etoile de Bessèges, winner of the Classic Haribo, the Grand Prix of Denain, the Tour of Vendée, double stage winner in the Tour of Languedoc-Roussillon, stage winner in the Critérium du Dauphiné-Libéré ; 2nd of two stages in the Tour de France (in Namur and Guéret), of the points classification of the Tour de France (Yellow jersey of the Tour de France for one day) ; 3rd of two stages in the Etoile de Bessèges, at Cholet-Pays de Loire, of a stage in the Tour de France (in Charleroi), at the Grand Prix of Fourmies ; 4th of a stage in the Etoile de Bessèges, of two stages in the Criterium International, of a stage in the Tour of Picardy, of a stage in the Tour of Languedoc-Roussillon, of a stage in the Tour de France (in Figeac) ; 5th in the Criterium International, of a stage in the Tour of Picardy, and of the prologue of the Tour de France (on 6.1 km, in Liège) ; 7th of the Tour of Midden-Zealand ; 8th in A Travers le Morbihan, in the Grand Prix of Villers-Cotterêts ; 9th at the Etoile de Bessèges ; 11th in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne ; 12th in a stage of the Tour de France (in Nîmes) ; 17th in Paris-Roubaix.
2005: Norwegian champion for time trial, winner of the points classification of the Tour de France, stage winner in the Four Days of Dunkirk, in the Tour of Catalunya, in the Criterium of the Dauphiné-Libéré, in the Tour of Limousin, in the Tour of Spain (in Cuenca) ; 2nd in a stage of the Tour of Catalunya, in a stage of the Tour de France (in Les Essarts), in a stage of the Tour of Limousin, in two stages of the Tour of Spain (in Argamasilla de Alba and Lloret de Mar) ; 3rd in Milan-San Remo, in a stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, in a stage of the Tour of Catalunya, in a stage of the Tour de France (in Montargis) ; 4th in a stage of the Tour of Spain (in Puertollano) ; 5th in Ghent-Wevelgem, of the Norwegian championship for road race, of two stages in the Tour de France (in Nancy and Montpellier) ; 6th in the Four Days of Dunkirk.
2006: winner of the prologue (on 7.1 km, in Strasbourg, yellow jersey for two days) and a stage of the Tour de France (in Paris), stage winner in Tirreno-Adriatico, winner of Ghent-Wevelgem, stage winner in the Tour of Catalunya, in the Critérium of the Dauphiné-Libéré, in the Tour of Spain (in Leon), winner of the points classification of the Tour of Spain ; 2nd of the Classic Haribo, of one stage in the Four Days of Dunkirk, of one stage in the Tour of Catalunya, of five stages in the Tour of Spain (in Cordoba, Almendralejo, Caceres, Cuenca and Madrid, Maillot de oro for three days) ; 3rd of a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, of two stages in the Four Days of Dunkirk, of one stage in the Tour of Catalunya, of one stage in the Tour de France (in Esch-sur-Alzette) and of the points classification of the Tour de France ; 4th of a stage in the Tour Down Under, of a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, of a stage in the Critérium of the Dauphiné-Libéré, of three stages in the Tour of Spain (in Lugo, Burgos and Almussafes), of Paris-Tours ; 5th of a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, of a stage in the Tour de France (in Vitré) ; 7th of a stage in theTour de France (in Caen) ; 9th of a stage in the Tour de France (in Strasbourg) ; 10th of a stage in the Tour de France (in Dax) ; 11th of the Four Days of Dunkirk ; 12th of the Het Volk ; 13th of Milan-San Remo ; 14th of the Tour of Flanders.
2007 : stage winner of the Tour de France (in Joigny) ; 2nd of two stages in the Tour of Italy (in Frascati and Scarperia), of the Norwegian championship for road race, of two stages in the Tour de France (in Canterbury and Paris), of a stage in the Eneco Tour, of the Grand Prix of Plouay ; 3rd of a stage in the Tour of California, of a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, of a stage in the Eneco Tour, of the Grand Prix of Wallonia ; 4th of three stages in the Tour of California, of a stage in the Tour of Italy (in Pinerolo), of a stage in the Critérium of the Dauphiné-Libéré, of Paris-Bourges ; 5th of two stages in the Tour de France (in Bourg-en-Bresse and Castres), of the Grand Prix of Isbergues ; 6th of a stage in the Tour of Italy (in Lido di Camaiore) ; 8th of Paris-Brussels, of Paris-Tours ; 10th of a stage in the Tour de France (in Angoulème) ; 19th of the World championship for road race (in Stuttgart).