Hushovd to leave BMC

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Thor Hushovd has revealed that he will leave the BMC team at the end of the season after the US-registered team told him via telephone that his contract would not be renewed.

The 36-year-old Hushovd joined BMC in 2012 as one of several big-name signings but has failed to show the form that saw him win the world road race title in 2010, stages in the Tour de France, or be competitive in the spring Classics.

Hushovd is part of BMC's team for this week's Critérium du Dauphiné but faces a tough task to secure a place in the BMC squad for the Tour de France that will be built around Tejay van Garderen.

"It's strange to receive a phone call like that. I'm used to teams wanting me and then suddenly they tell me they're no longer interested in me. It's clear that it's a disappointment," Norwegian television TV2 reported Hushovd as saying.

Hushovd agent Alex Carera told Cyclingnews that the Norwegian hopes to carry on racing for a further two years despite his age and long career. He did not ride the 2013 Tour de France but found the form to dominate the Arctic Race of Norway and win stages Tour of Poland and the Tour of Beijing in the second half of 2013.

Several team are apparently interested in Hushovd, including IAM Cycling-where his former Crédit Agricole directeur sportif Serge Beucherie now has a key role. Hushovd could also perhaps play an mentoring role and lead out rider for Peter Sagan at Tinkoff-Saxo.