Thor Hushovd finished ninth in today's bunch sprint at the Tour de France's fourth stage from Cambrai to Reims. It wasn't what the Cervélo TestTeam rider had expected, especially after gaining self-confidence with his stage three win. But the fatigue started to settle in four days into the three-week Grand Tour around France.
Hushovd was a tad disappointed of not having an answer to Alessandro Petacchi's acceleration on the finishing straight. "I wanted to do better, but I missed the power in the sprint today. It's the fatigue of the efforts from the past three days catching up with me, especially from yesterday." The previous day had some serious cobblestone sections, which was good for Hushovd, who does well in those conditions. But the bad roads shook the riders hard.
Plus, the summer had caught up with the peloton as it made its way from Belgium and the Netherlands into France. "Today was our first day in the heat, and I don't do really well in the heat, so I was suffering all day." The sprint itself didn't go too great, either. While Petacchi was patiently waiting for his chance, others were more restless. "I was too early on the front in the sprint. I was on the wheel of Cavendish, but Petacchi started a long sprint, and I had to start my sprint again. He [Petacchi] was faster today, so chapeau."
Hushovd is currently in the green jersey of best sprinter, a jersey he brought all the way to Paris last year. "I have good legs. I think I can do what I did last year and pick up some points in the medium mountain stages. Of course I want to win the green jersey again, but first I want to win another stage. The fight to the green jersey is just starting. I have to take it day by day and try to pick up points when I can."
Sastre happy so far
Overall hope Carlos Sastre is happy that the focus is on others this first week of the Tour. "We're having a great start to the Tour as a team. Thor won a stage, I am still in the hunt and everyone is riding great."
Sastre had some health problems in the leadup to the Tour, but things are better. "The good news is that my back isn't hurting me. That's the most important thing right now."
Sastre lost a little bit of time yesterday, on the cobbles. "I was in good position in the front group, right behind Contador, when someone crashed in front of me. There was nothing I could do and I also went down."
Then team is working perfectly well together in these kinds of circumstances. "I broke both wheels. Luckily, Brett Lancester was there and I could take his bike. I was able to join the Basso group and didn't lose too much time. That's bike racing."