Thor Hushovd out of the 2012 Olympic Games
Thor Hushovd of Team BMC confirmed that he will not be able to ride the 2012 Olympic Games mainly because of his struggling form.
"The Olympics has been a major goal of the season and with a course that would fit me very well," he briefed.
"My focus is that Norway will provide the best possible team during the road race in London, and when the body is not functioning optimally, unfortunately, I have to withdraw. I wish the guys good luck in the Olympics," he stated on the Norwegian Cycling Federation site.
Hushovd will be replaced by Vegard Stake Laeng who marked his debut with Team Type-1 Sanofi earlier this season.
Steffen Kjærgaard.is the Norwegian Sports Director and he is determined that Vegard can be really helpful for the team during the race.
"With Vegard we still have a powerful Olympic team that will compete for medals in London," he noted.
Thor marked his professional debut in 2000 with Team Credit Agricole and spent a period of eight years with the side.
He accepted an offer from Team Cervelo TestTeam for 2009-2010 seasons before joining Team Garmin-Cervelo in 2011.
The 34-year-old joined Team BMC in 2012 and has struggled to justify his class in the first half of the season because of the fitness issues.
He rode brilliantly in the past season and was a real Norwegian hero at the Tour de France 2011 with his splendid performance that earned him the yellow jersey throughout stage 2 to stage 9.
The Norwegian also bagged three stages at the French race including the team’s time trial stage 2, stage 13 and stage 16.
He managed to secure the fifth overall spot after the final point’s classifications with a total number of 195 UCI points to his credit.
Mark Cavendish secured the green jersey with a maximum amount of 334 points while Jose Joaquin Rojas, Philippe Gilbert and Cadel Evans holding the next four spots.
Hushovd also bagged a stage each at the Tour de Suisse and the Tour of Britain 2011 and occupied the eighth overall spot during the Paris-Roubaix 2011.
The Norwegian side will definitely miss the services of its star rider at the biggest sporting contest of the season.
However, with the presence of Edvald Boasson Hagen, Lars Petter, Alexander Kristoff and Vegard Stake Laeng the team still has strong chances to secure gold at the London Olympics.
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