Thor Hushovd confirmed his status as Norway’s top cyclist over the weekend, when he won the Norwegian championships once again. Now he’s gearing up, literally, for another run on the Tour de France.
Hushovd, now age 32, wasn’t feeling well just a few hours before the Norwegian cycling championships (NM) began in Trondheim, and told reporters he considered dropping the whole thing.
“I seriously evaluated whether I should even start,” said Hushovd, explaining that he had a bad cold. “The evening before the race, I had no voice and couldn’t talk.
“But I got a good night’s sleep and felt better in the morning. During the race, though, I thought maybe I’d need to give up.”
He didn’t, and ended up racing in to his second victory in the championships fellesstart. He pedaled past Edvald Boasson Hagen, age 23, who will be the only other Norwegian competing in the Tour de France after Kurt Asle Arvesen didn’t make the cut.
Hushovd’s weekend triumph came after 196 kilometers that included 3,400 meters of elevation changes. Now both he and Boasson will tackle the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday.
Hushovd wants to win the green jersey again, like he did last year (PicApp photo). “That means a lot to me,” said the racer from Grimstad, on Norway’s southern coast. “I really want to show it off on TV and in the Tour de France.”
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