At 18, EBH was tested by high road. Afterwards, Stapleton concluded that EBH was "the most talented rider" he had ever seen. He said that he would certainly be a future TDF winner. At this point, EBH was a shy, poor boy from a small farm in Rudsbygd. I know that he wasn't doped at this point. A friend of me (who was a continental rider before) lived and trained with him a lot and he certainly wasn't doing anything suspicious. He wasn't very worried by money either, as he was offered HUGE contracts at that point but decided to stay with Team Maxbo Bianchi for another year to ride with his friends.
As a u23 rider, EBH dominated most hilly stages. He was the world's most winning rider in 2007, winning a total of 15 races. Merely 2-3 of them were from sprints, most were from late attacks. In Ringerike GP for example, he won 4 out of 5 stages + the overall. All his stage wins were won solo. He was also top 15 in tour d'lavenir, despite losing 10 minutes in the crosswinds. In stage 9 he was the only rider from the peloton able to follow Bauke Mollema in the hills.
When he became a pro in 2008 he started of by being 5th in his first ever race, the prologue of Tour of California. Barely a few months later he won the ITT in Criterium International, ahead of riders like Tony Martin and David Zabriskie. He took a total of 8 victories in his first year as a pro.
In 2009 he started of by winning Gent-Wevelgem. In Giro d'Italia he won stage 7. He was 2nd on stage 6 and stage 8. In stage 8 he actually followed an attack by Leipheimer up a 1st category mountain and bridged up to a group including Pellizotti, Diluca etc. Look at this top 11 and tell me again that EBH "suddenly" learned to climb at Sky:
1 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - Highroad
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia - Highroad 0.21
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini
4 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad
5 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
6 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.
8 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
9 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.
10 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram
11 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
How many sprinters can you see in that group? So as you can see, EBH was a good climber already at 21 y.o, even though he was 77 kg's. He also showed that his recovery was great, as he finished 3rd on the last ITT of the Giro.
At Sky he started of by winning two stages in tour of oman, including a hilly ITT ahead of Cancellara. Then he was injured for a long time, but came back to win a hilly stage of the Dauphine solo. He attacked up a 1st category mountain, caught the break, attacked from the break and won with a big gap. This was the only hilly stage Sky won in 2010. Later in the year he was climbing with the very best in GP Quebec and GP Montreal. In Montreal he was countering attacks by Samuel Sanchez uphill. Unfortunately he fell in the last corner.
In 2011 he dropped 3 kg's (from 76 to 73 kgs) and had results such as 2nd on the MTF in Oman (behind Gesink) and 6th on the first MTF in Dauphine:
1 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 3:36:42
2 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:00:06
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:07
4 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
5 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
7 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 0:00:13
8 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
9 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:15
10 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack
11 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
Fast forward, he's now pulling the peloton in the first 40 km's of mountain stages. Is that really that surprising? That a guy who was predicted to win GT's can be a decent domestique in the mountains?
My point is that EBH has barely improved as a climber at all. Definitely no more improvement than one would expect from a 25 year old. And again, he was not at Tenerife...