Aleksander Hetland was born in the municipality of Sandnes, on the hills of Hana at the east side of Sandnes. Aleksander came from a cycling family, his father Ivar was an amateur cyclist and bought him a bike when he was eight years old. His older brother Dagfinn was also an amateur cyclist. Hetlands first race was at a local race in a nearby business park called Forus, where he finished ninth. Aleksander was not the biggest talent in his youth.
He moved at the age of sixteen to the development team of the Team WonderDee organization and was coached by the former Norwegian professional cyclist Espen Bjørklund, whom he credited with helping him become a better cyclist. The team management also promised to allow him to move to the professional squad if he showed good performance. In the youth academy he developed his talent in to a technical hiller. A pretty unique rider type at the time,...
Read moreAleksander Hetland was born in the municipality of Sandnes, on the hills of Hana at the east side of Sandnes. Aleksander came from a cycling family, his father Ivar was an amateur cyclist and bought him a bike when he was eight years old. His older brother Dagfinn was also an amateur cyclist. Hetlands first race was at a local race in a nearby business park called Forus, where he finished ninth. Aleksander was not the biggest talent in his youth.
He moved at the age of sixteen to the development team of the Team WonderDee organization and was coached by the former Norwegian professional cyclist Espen Bjørklund, whom he credited with helping him become a better cyclist. The team management also promised to allow him to move to the professional squad if he showed good performance. In the youth academy he developed his talent in to a technical hiller. A pretty unique rider type at the time, and still to this day. At the end of his fifth season with the WonderDee academy squad, they offered to move him to the professional squad.
Hetland turned professional in season 36 when he signed a contract with the professional squad of Team WonderDee, with whom he stayed until the end of his career. He had his breakthrough in the following season with winning the Lappi Sea #37, where he won his first of three trophies in the Finnish hill classic. That season he also won the Bruxelles - Liège (WT) #24 for the national team and the South African race Sun City Wild Ride #12. He ended the season with a sixth place in the twelfth edition of the Morne Seychellois Trophy. The same race Aleksander ended his career 17 seasons later.
Hetland's biggest wins have been as mention the Lappi Sea #37, #40 and #41, Melbourne - Canberra #45, Bergen - Bergen #32 and the sprinting classification in Vuelta a Valparaìso #1. An other achievement is podiums in the general classification of three different tours. Overall, Hetland has 48 professional wins and 137 results most of them in 2nd - Zyte division. He won 12 of the 18 races available in Zyte Division in the periode of his career, and finished on the podium in 16th of them. This achievement is one of the reasons he won the best rider outside top division award four times. He have also been awarded the best hiller of the season eight times, all in row from Season 39 to Season 46. An award that carries his name in honor of his great career.
His last victory came at the age of 39 when he won the Bagno di Bomagna GP for the tenth time in his career. Hetland did also have a descent career for the national team with 55 races, where he won three of three hill races at the WT A level.
Aleksander is rare in combining different specialities in road bicycle racing, being a strong hiller specialist, sprinter and a good bike handler. The rank regarding points scored ranks him as the 2nd best cyclist of all time at his retirement. Hetland has placed himself in the top 10 rider rank seven times. Aleksander did never win the overall rank, but he was close to win the overall rank in season 45, but was beaten on the line.
Few riders has dominated their generation as much as Aleksander, who could win in a variety of races so long as it was hilly enough. Though he was unable to win the top division classic Bergen Rundtur, he emerged as one of the best hill specialists of his era. Earning him the nickname Aleksander "The Great" Hetland. After his retirement a new race was added to the calendar of Zyte division in honor of the great, the Aleksander Hetlands Æresritt.
Norway