Thor Hushovd’s frustrating season continued today when the BMC Racing Team rider dropped out of the Giro d’Italia 84 kilometres after the start in Urbino.
The Norwegian, who normally rides well on rolling roads, got into difficulty early on and decided to end his participation in the race.
“The information I have is that he had no more power to follow the race. He is fatigued. He was already a bit dropped yesterday on the climbs,” BMC spokesperson Blandine Roquelet told VeloNation.
Hushovd placed seventh and sixth in the bunch finishes on stages two and three, but suffered on yesterday’s tougher stage. He rolled in nine minutes 14 seconds back yesterday in 167th place, and was sitting almost twelve minutes back in 172nd overall prior to today’s start.
Roquelet said that the Norwegian was unsure as to how things would go for him today. “This morning he did an interview on Eurosport and they told him that maybe these kind of roads can suit him. However he said that they would if he was in his best form, but he was not sure about his shape. He was conscious that maybe it wouldn’t be the moment for him.”
After completing a big transfer from Garmin Cervelo to the BMC Racing Team, Hushovd hasn’t been firing on all cylinders this year. He now has time to take a step back, work on his condition, and to try to ensure he’s in top shape for the Tour de France.
He won two stages in last year’s race and was part of the winning team in the general classification.
Hushovd’s BMC Racing Team-mate Taylor Phinney ensured a good start for the US WorldTour squad, winning the prologue and leading the race until the team time trial.
Today’s stage coves 207 kilometres and finishes in Porto Sant’Elpidio.