Norwegian rider Thor Hushovd will not be heading to Beijing to contest the Olympic road race. The winner of stage two of the Tour de France cited illness as his reason to skip the Games.
"It is very annoying and very unpleasant, but I have to take care of my health," the 30-year-old told the Norwegian news agency NTB.
"It's better to give somebody else a chance, when the body isn't functioning properly. It's really irritating. I've thought about it a lot. The Olympics were a major goal for me this year," he said. Hushovd skipped his national championships after becoming ill, and then started the Tour de France in spite of not getting better. He won stage two, but then got sick again before the race hit the Alps, and had to take antibiotics, according to Alpenposten.
Hushovd also faces the dissolution of his Crédit Agricole team, which announced Friday that it had not been able to secure a replacement sponsor.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
