Born in the same year as
Dag Erik Pedersen, they competed in age-specific races. Ødegård rode for the club Lørenskog CK, until 1979 when he changed to
SK Rye. Since the clubs could not agree on a transfer fee, the rules stipulated that Ødegård had to ride without
shirt sponsors for the next twelve months. Together with
Geir Digerud,
Morten Sæther and
Jostein Wilmann, Ødegård won a bronze medal in the
team time trial event at the
1979 UCI Road World Championships.
Verdens Gang were delighted that Norway could foster not one, but four cyclists who were competitive on the highest international level. "It would be comparable to a Spaniard coming to
Holmenkollen and achieving a third place among the world elite skiers",
VG's journalist opined. "Norwegian sports has yet again had a bronze team", the newspaper wrote with reference to the Norwegian bronze medallists at the
1938 FIFA World Cup. Three weeks earlier, the same team had also won the Nordic Championships time trials. The cycling team was now mentioned as one of Norway's main candidates to win a medal at the
1980 Summer Olympics. He finished fourth in the road race at the 1982 Nordic Championships. and eleventh in the amateurs' road race at the
1982 UCI Road World Championships. The next year, he won his second bronze medal in the
team time trial event, this time at the
1983 UCI Road World Championships with teammates
Terje Gjengaar,
Dag Hopen and
Tom Pedersen. The result was described as "one of the all-time bombshells", a "shock" and "unbelieveable". This time, a Norwegian team would be sent to the
1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Ødegård finished 10th with the Norwegian
time trial team at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Entering the
individual road race, Ødegård did not finish that. ==References==