Former world champion still has a long way to go to build Norwegian WorldTour team in time for 2017 season
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Thor Hushovd is making his last appearance in Norway(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thor Hushovd wins Cervelo's first Tour stage in Barcelona in 2009(Image credit: AFP)
Don't mess with the best. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) is ready to get down to business.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Cervelo Test Team riders accept the best team award after stage 3.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Thor Hushovd in Cervelo TestTeam colours(Image credit: AFP)
Thor Hushovd has a long way to go if he is to launch Norway’s first ever WorldTour squad but the former cycling world champion is confident that he can attract the necessary sponsors to launch a squad in 2017.
Hushovd, now retired and an ambassador for the Arctic Race of Norway, rode for a number of high-level teams during his career but would like to replicate the structure and ethos that was in place during his time at the short-lived Cervelo TestTeam, which ran from 2009 until 2010. The team ran out of funding in 2010 but not before they made a significant imprint on the cycling world.
"I liked the Cervelo TestTeam a lot, and I’d like to go into that direction. I want a simple structure with good people. I don’t want many distractions, just people who do their work. That’s what we had at Cervelo, where we signed some riders who weren’t the best when they joined but who did great things together as a group," Hushovd told the press during a pre-race gathering in Norway’s costal town of Harstad.
"I’m still working on it and having a lot of meetings. I’m optimistic that in 2017 Norway will have its first-ever big team. Hopefully a WorldTour team."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
