Thor Hushovd Spearheads the Cervelo TestTeam
Thor Hushovd came into the 2010 Tour de France as the defending green jersey champion. The two-time green jersey winner rode with the Cervelo TestTeam, leading the team with the all-rounder Carlos Sastre.
Hushovd built a tight grip on the points classification early in the Tour, first taking it in the 3rd Stage for eight consecutive stages, then losing it to Alessandro Petacchi in the 11th stage, with whom he took turns in first place for a significant part of the rest of the race. Though Petacchi finished the Tour with the green jersey, it’s not technically too late for Hushovd to take it back.
"This jersey is very special for me because I came to the Tour just hoping to win a stage and never even thought I had a chance to win the points competition," said Petacchi. "I won two stages and the jersey came along stage after stage.”
The 36 year-old Italian Petacchi was recently notified of a formal inquiry into doping practices in Italian professional cycling. Petacchi falls under that investigation. He was previously banned from pro cycling in 2007 after testing positive for doping, returning to the sport in 2009.
Precedent existed for the rider to be removed from the Tour. In April, Alessandro Ballan and Mauro Santambrogio were investigated by the same prosecutor, and the BMC-Racing team suspended them until they were cleared. Both riders rode in the Tour de France this year.
Similar action was not taken against Petacchi, who was wearing the green jersey when the investigation was announced, but Hushovd can have the comfort of knowing that if the on-going investigation produces any evidence against the Italian, he may be stripped of the jersey retroactively.
"He is going really well this year,” said the Norwegian Hushovd. “It's not a surprise to see him doing so well because I know he's a good rider and a good sprinter. But he's 36, and although I did mention him before the race I didn't see him as my biggest rival."
Hushovd first won the green jersey in 2005, which was Lance Armstrong’s 7th consecutive winning Tour. The Norwegian joined the Cervelo TestTeam at its foundation in 2009 and won his second green jersey victory in the team’s debut Tour de France that year. In that tour he was 10 points ahead of Mark Cavendish, who finished 10 points ahead of Hushovd this year, and 11 points behind Petacchi.
"The sprints haven't really gone well for me," said Hushovd. "I wish I had more power in the sprints. But in the last week of the Tour I think it's more important that you have fresh legs and feel strong when it comes to the sprints. I like sprints that are hard, but this year's have all been quite flat."
The Cervelo TestTeam finished the Tour poorly, with leaders Hushovd and Sastre as the only notable performers. Sastre reached a highest ranking of 12th overall and finished the race in 20th, an admirable performance, though a far cry from his overall victory in 2008, the year in which Hushovd finished second in the green jersey competition, 50 points behind Oscar Freire.
"All I've been lacking in recent days is a bit of luck,” said Sastre. “I made an attempt for the stage win at Ax-3 Domaines and it didn't work out, I tried again yesterday and it was the same result.”
Despite the poor overall performance in the Tour, the Cervelo TestTeam has proven both with its presentation of Hushovd and Sastre, as well as its team victory in the German International Women’s Race, that it has an ability to produce spirit and aggressive contenders. Despite a lack of overall victories, the Cervelo riders have played a huge part in shaping every race of the season and are building a long list of stage wins across Europe. They are worth keeping an eye on.
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