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Hushovd shows Tour form with Catalunya win
Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) sat in the shade of some palm trees Wednesday morning saying he’d like to win a stage at the week-long Volta a Catalunya as "a test" before tackling more important goals later this summer.
Well, if his sprint victory in Wednesday’s third stage ahead of riders he’s due to square off against in a few weeks is any indication, the big Norwegian seems to be on the right path for the Tour.
"It was a tough sprint because of strong headwinds in the finale," Hushovd told reporters. "I’m particularly delighted to win, because today is Norway’s national holiday. I’m on track for the Tour, and this win and the leader’s jersey to boot confirms it."
Hushovd also slipped into the race leader’s jersey with time bonuses, taking it away from Team CSC’s Fabian Cancellara, who won the opening time trial Monday in his first race back since winning Paris-Roubaix.
The 176km stage featured two climbs midway through the race and was animated by an early breakaway that charged off the front just 5km into the day’s proceedings. In the bunch were Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile), Stephane Auge (Cofidis), Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas), Jorge Garcia (Relax) and Francisco Mancebo (Ag2r).
Mancebo, who’s looking to improve on his fourth place from last year’s Tour, couldn’t quite match the motivation of his fellow escapees and fell off the pace at 45km. The gap opened up to nearly 10 minutes after coming over the Coll de Fatxes before Illes Balears decided to ramp up the chase.
Quinziato, Auge and Kirchen were still off the front at 125km with more than six minutes’ advantage and it looked like they might stay away. The sprinters’ teams, once again led by Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, punched the accelerator to end the aggression to set up the mass gallop.
Hushovd pipped Rene Haselbacher (Gerolsteiner) to claim the win. Coming through third was Robert Hunter (Phonak) with the eternal Erik Zabel (Milram) rolling through fourth. Hunter moved into a tie with Hushovd with Cancellara dipping to third.
The 86th Volta continues Thursday with the stage that’s sure to be the race-breaker. The 225km stage pushes from the sunny realm along the Med coast and climbs into the heart of the Pyrenees, ending with the steep climb up Arcalis in Andorra.
