Read Part I of our Thor Hushovd Interview
From the moment he won the world road race championship on October 3rd, Thor Hushovd’s life, and career, changed. Not only is he the sport’s top champion, but he also gets to wear a very recognisable jersey which is, essentially, a billboard to his ability. It also marks him out as a target for other ambitious riders; when he moves, when he considers attacking, he will find many other riders quick to jump straight on his wheel.
Still, as Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) showed this year, becoming world champion doesn’t mean that your year in the highlight will be an unsuccessful one. If a rider is good enough, and if he can strike the right balance in the off season between training and attending various functions, he can continue to win. Hushovd will do what he can to honour the jersey in the same way, and has said that he has a big dream of winning Paris-Roubaix while wearing rainbow bands.
The 32 year old rode the Giro di Lombardia earlier today. The vast majority of the peloton didn’t finish the race, with Hushovd being one of those to pack early. He won’t be unduly worried, though; he said beforehand that the parcours was too tough for him, and the weather conditions were the most difficult in many years. His participation was more about honouring the jersey and taking part in the final race of the Cervélo TestTeam than about chasing a result.
Approximately 24 hours before the finish of the race, Hushvod met the media and spoke about a range of topics. In the second part of this two-part interview, he talked about expectations that he will be seen as a patron and someone who should give his opinions when big events and scandals occur. He also commented on the Contador situation, on doping cases in cycling, his feeling that penalties should probably be increased, and his thoughts on the subsequently-abandoned plans to have a ten minute protest before today’s race.
Apart from such matters, the Norwegian gave his thoughts on his move to the Garmin team in 2011. He’s looking forward to working with riders such as Tyler Farrar, believing that the squad will quite possibly be the strongest Classics team in the world next season. As for the green jersey in the Tour de France, he believes that either he or Farrar is going to have to give full support to the other in order to stand a chance. The question of who that will be will be decided just before the race starts.
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Q: You are now world champion. Do you think it will change you in some way…the responsibility aspect, or the way you are considered as a rider?
Thor Hushovd: I don’t think so. Okay, I now know that I will have more pressure with the jersey. Everybody sees you, you cannot hide in the bunch. But I don’t think I have more responsibility to talk out. If I have something to say, of course people are going to listen a bit more and the media is probably going to write what I say. But I don’t feel that I have to say something more [than before].
Q: The Contador situation is a difficult moment for cycling…in fact, the sport has had a lot of them. But I think that people seem to be looking towards others a bit more [to comment] – do you feel responsibility that way?
TH: I think it is more that now as world champion, people want to ask me. I know it is different when I am world champion rather than someone else. Of course, if Cancellara answers also, that is also different [than other riders].
But I don’t feel…again, like I said before, it is not my responsibility to talk about Contador. The only thing I can say is what I think about doping – that it is sad, of course, for cycling. But I don’t want to stand up and say, ‘riders, don’t take drugs, because it is bad for you’ because everybody knows that. I don’t feel it is for me to stand up. Unless it is something really special…then I feel like I’ll say something.
Q: If you could, what would you change in that aspect to make it [anti-doping] a better situation?
TH: I think how the ProTour tried to make rules, just to make it harder for a rider who gets a ban. Maybe in some cases they should have longer suspensions, and when they come back, [they] don’t come back that easily [to the top–level teams]. Because when you are 22 years old and you get a ban, you can come back when you are 24 and you still have ten to fifteen years of a career.
Of course, in cycling, as it is in normal life, you take your ban and you are welcome back in the community [afterwards]. It also should be the same in cycling.
Anyway, it seems to get more credibility, maybe we need a longer suspension.
Q: Do you then think there should be four years for a first offence?
TH: Ah, I am not the right person to talk about how long it would be, but maybe it is something that we should do as we need more support from the public. Because that is what we need in cycling.
They know we are working hard. This is what we see when Contador is positive – we see that the system is working.
Q: In the peloton, do people have a certain expectation of what will happen in that particular case?
TH: I don’t think anybody knows. I don’t know.
Q: Do you think it is correct that that there is no allowable level for something like Clenbuterol? Is that a concern for you, that perhaps there could be contamination for some substances and that something would show up as the tests get more sensitive?
TH: Well, you are always scared that something could happen. When I have a test, I am always scared of what could happen…maybe there could be something wrong. In the end, you are almost getting paranoid.
But you just have to be smart and think of what you do all the time, you have to be professional all the time. It is the same with the ADAMS [the Whereabouts System], you cannot forget about this. You have to think about everything.
That is how professional sport is now…not just cycling, but sport in general. You cannot leave your drink somewhere, and come back five minutes later and keep drinking it. You cannot take up an open bowl, things like this.
Still, I have to go to the restaurant and eat my food, and be peaceful in my head. I think most of us are, but sometimes you can be paranoid and think, ‘where’s the limits?’ But I believe in the system, I believe that it is good.
Q: There is supposed to be a protest before the Giro di Lombardia. You will be more of a figurehead as you have the jersey. How do you feel about it?
TH: Procycling [magazine] just asked me the same question. But I am not in agreement, because firstly it is not my idea, and they have not even asked if I have agreed with the idea.
If I am going to stand there in the street, I first have to know about it. Secondly, I have to agreed in what I am going to protest against. So if I am against it, I cannot stand there and give my support. Of course, in this case, I don’t agree with what this Torri man said, because he talks about something he doesn’t know.
To take an example, there is a story here in Italy involving Alitalia [airline company]. They did something wrong, there is a big case about it in Italy. It is not that everybody in this country did something wrong. But people are talking about the whole company [being at fault]…it is wrong. It is wrong to blame the other people who work there. I think it is the same case here.
Q: Jonathan Vaughters of the Garmin team has said that he doesn’t agree with what Ettore Torri said, but he also doesn’t agree with the protest either. Do you think tomorrow will be the scenario that half the peloton will ride, and half will stay?
TH: No, I don’t think so. I don’t think any of the riders liked to hear what he said. So I think that most of the riders think that is wrong. But I think if you want to do something, you have to be serious. If people want to do something like this, they have to really do it properly.
Q: So what will you do tomorrow? Will you stop if the other riders stop?
TH: I don’t know. It is not my idea. I have to know more about the case. I just heard about it now, so then we will see what happens.
Q: The riders’ association isn’t very strong in cases like this…
TH: Yes, that is probably one problem in cycling…we are not strong as a group. We tried to do this with the ProTour but it didn’t work.
Q: Tomorrow is the last race for Cervélo, but you will be riding in the rainbow jersey in a big Classic. So will there be mixed emotions for you? What kind of emotions will there be for you and the team?
TH: I think it will be mixed. I will be proud to be there, but it is really sad that this is the last race for Cervélo, because it is such a nice team and there are really good ideas around it. But this is life and this is how it is in sports, sometimes things come to an end.
Q: When Carlos Sastre announced that he would leave, was the team already set to finish, or did his decision affect the future of the team?
TH: No. I think he knew that the team could not continue.
Q: You have a new team next year in Garmin-Cervelo…how do you feel about that?
TH: I still don’t know where I am going…maybe I will go to Quick Step [said with a laugh, referring to the rumours that other teams were chasing him]. No, I am looking forward to next year. I will be part of a really big team, maybe the biggest team out there.
Q: Garmin has quite a strong identity, a relaxed attitude compared to other teams. It is not very strict discipline-wise. Will you take some of the Cervélo identity to it?
TH: Well, I think we are not too far from this. I think there will be no problems about many of the riders from before. A few of them [on the team] are people I often talk with in the bunch, and that is the same case with the other guys who come from Cervélo. I think there will be no problem.
We will all be on the same team, we will have the same goals.
Q: They have some good riders, and have performed well in Paris-Roubaix in the past. Overall, do you think the Classic lineup there will be better than what was in Cervélo this year?
TH: Yes, it will be better, for sure. We will have Maskaant and riders like this. Also Farrar…he is good in the Classics. Of course we are going to be stronger. We will have more riders to take…so if somebody is out with sickness or problems, we can still take good ones.
Q: How will you do things in the Tour? Tyler Farrar is a green jersey contender as well. Have you decided what will happen?
TH: I think I will just do my Classics and then afterwards, in May, I am going to see what is happening. I am going to see where I am standing, where he is and then we will take the decision.
Q: Is that something you have to decide before the Tour, or will you see who is best-placed after a certain number of stages, with the other backing them up?
TH: No, we have to decide before. We cannot go into the first sprint and have a competition between us. That is stupid, that is not serious.
Q: When will you get together with the team for the first time?
TH: We will go to the Cayman Islands in November, in the Carribean.
Q: Finally, how do feel about the distinctive colour scheme with Garmin?
TH: I don’t know the design for next year. I don’t know what the sponsor will do [in terms of design]. But for me it is a big problem, I have my own jersey [laughs].