Norway's Hushovd nets road world title
Source: Agencies |
October 4, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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THOR Hushovd became Norway's first road world champion yesterday, powering clear of a mass sprint to edge out Denmark's Matti Breschel in a dramatic finish.
The muscular sprint specialist timed his run to perfection, hanging back in the peloton as a number of attackers flagged on the steep climbs of the 262.7 kilometer course, before bursting to the front to win by a little more than a bike length.
"It's a big dream of course to win big races and especially the world championship, it's something special," the soft-spoken 32-year-old told reporters while wearing the rainbow jersey.
"In the end, coming into a sprint you don't really have time to think if it's possible or not and when I saw I passed Breschel in the last few meters it was just unbelievable and an amazing feeling."
Allan Davis took bronze as a consolation prize for Australia, after champion Cadel Evans' title defense was swamped in the tide of the peloton before the final straight.
Riders enjoyed mild sunny weather, but windy conditions proved decisive late in the challenging course, which started with a mostly flat 88km run from Melbourne's Federation Square before heading into an undulating 15.9km circuit around Geelong.
A course that was supposed to discourage sprinters and reward the bigger teams suddenly grew teeth in the last lap as strong headwinds on the hills accounted for a string of favorites' chances.
Philippe Gilbert of Belgium briefly opened a 40-second gap from a breakaway that included local hope Evans, but was swamped a few kilometers before the finishing line.
Further attacks by Russia's Pavel Brutt, Slovenia's Janez Brajkovic and Netherlands' Niki Terpstra came to nothing as the riders entered the final straight.
Breschel's late charge appeared to have the race won but Hushovd struck like a lightning bolt to haul in the Dane about 30 meters before the line as the championships ended on a high note after a week marred by Alberto Contador's doping controversy.
The muscular sprint specialist timed his run to perfection, hanging back in the peloton as a number of attackers flagged on the steep climbs of the 262.7 kilometer course, before bursting to the front to win by a little more than a bike length.
"It's a big dream of course to win big races and especially the world championship, it's something special," the soft-spoken 32-year-old told reporters while wearing the rainbow jersey.
"In the end, coming into a sprint you don't really have time to think if it's possible or not and when I saw I passed Breschel in the last few meters it was just unbelievable and an amazing feeling."
Allan Davis took bronze as a consolation prize for Australia, after champion Cadel Evans' title defense was swamped in the tide of the peloton before the final straight.
Riders enjoyed mild sunny weather, but windy conditions proved decisive late in the challenging course, which started with a mostly flat 88km run from Melbourne's Federation Square before heading into an undulating 15.9km circuit around Geelong.
A course that was supposed to discourage sprinters and reward the bigger teams suddenly grew teeth in the last lap as strong headwinds on the hills accounted for a string of favorites' chances.
Philippe Gilbert of Belgium briefly opened a 40-second gap from a breakaway that included local hope Evans, but was swamped a few kilometers before the finishing line.
Further attacks by Russia's Pavel Brutt, Slovenia's Janez Brajkovic and Netherlands' Niki Terpstra came to nothing as the riders entered the final straight.
Breschel's late charge appeared to have the race won but Hushovd struck like a lightning bolt to haul in the Dane about 30 meters before the line as the championships ended on a high note after a week marred by Alberto Contador's doping controversy.
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