After nine years with Credite Agricole, six-time Tour de France stage winner Thor Hushovd signed with the new Cervélo TestTeam. The Norwegian sprinter decided to follow 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre of Spain in September 2008.

“First, it was a big challenge for me to change teams,” said Hushovd. “I’ve been on the same team for many, many years. I wanted to change something, something new, a new experience not go to another French team which are the same. We are a good group of riders who enjoy riding their bikes and that’s important. I think we have absolutely one of the fastest and strongest leadout in the world. I look forward to try that and see how we work together.”

“We have been talking about how we (will) work out,” continued Hushovd. “The only good training and practice we can get is in races, so we have to start on practicing and get used to each other, and then we just try and see how it works. For us, it’s not important if we win. To win of course is really good, but we want to try to set up, work together and see how everything works out.”

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Levi Leipheimer (USA), General Classification Leader
Astana
On today’s crash:
“That was my fault. I just looked down for one second and it was windy and everyone moved to the left and right and the next thing I knew, there was a touch of the wheel. Usually you can put your foot down and pull it out, but not today. I went down. It was actually one of those crashes that hurts really bad right away, but goes away, so I think that’s a good sign. With Chris (Horner) crashing, the gap got a lot bigger so we had to shut it down; without the crash, it would have been a lot easier. The circuit we very, very nerve racking. It’s the first time we’ve done that this year and now it’s back to racing. I forget how hectic it can be. It hurts but it happens. I didn’t break anything. I’ve done it before; it’s not big deal”

Thor Hushovd (NOR), First Place, Stage 3
Cervelo Test Team
On the race today:
“My teammates, including Hayden Roulston, started with one kilometer to go, and then Dominique Rollin pulled to just the last corner. Then, Lancaster (Bret) and I started to pass him (Jeff Louder) with only 150 meters to go, so our team did a great job today. I’m really proud of them.”

On his team:
“This is the first time I’ve been riding with these guys. I know that with these guys, we are one of the best lead-out teams in the world, and I think we showed that today. With these guys, I’m looking forward to the future and chances for another sprint.”

On doing one lap versus two at the finish:
“I think it was enough with the one lap, but it’s good that we passed the finish line once so we could see finish course.”

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Cervelo Test Team’s Thor Hushovd Takes Bunch Sprint to Win Stage 3

Photo by Ken Conley

MODESTO, CA – After completing one of the most defining stages of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, which included the Sierra Road (Cat. 1) climb, a signature climb in the race, Thor Hushovd (NOR) of Cervelo Test Team held on to take the stage win. Santa Rosa resident Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Astana had another strong performance in front of thousands of enthused cycling fans to retain the overall lead.

The riders were hit hard early in Stage 3, just five miles into the race, when they took on the first King of the Mountains competition (KOM) Sierra Road (1,930 ft.). The racers then sped through flat sections that twisted and turned, including more than 40 switchbacks on Calaveras Road. After tackling the second KOM climb of the day, Patterson Pass (category 4), the stage concluded with a lap around a downtown circuit in Modesto.

Beginning with the difficult Sierra Road climb, the 101.4-mile stage from San Jose to Modesto started off with a warm welcome from a massive crowd. As the field started up the climb just outside of San Jose, a small breakaway group of four riders separated from the pack and was briefly joined by the previous day’s KOM leader Francisco Mancebo (ESP) of Rock Racing.

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Photo by Ken Conley

Stage 3 top-five finishers:
1 - Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervelo Test Team
2 - Oscar Freire (ESP), Rabobank
3 - Mark Renshaw (AUS), Team Columbia-High Road
4 - Tyler Farrar (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
5 - Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-High Road

General Classification top-five standings as of Stage 3:
1) Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
2) Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Comumbia-High Road
3) David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
4) Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
5) Christopher Horner (USA), Astana

Stage 3 jersey winners include:
Amgen Race Leader Jersey- Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider Jersey- Bradley White (USA), OUCH Presented by Maxxis
Herbalife Sprint Jersey- Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing
Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey- Robert Gesink (NED), Rabobank
California Travel & Tourism Commission King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey- Bauke Mollema (NED), Rabobank

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Special evening to be highlighted by Olympian members of
Webcor Builders Women’s Professional Cycling Team

The San Jose Cycling Classic in conjunction with Camera Cinemas will present a special free screening of The Flying Scotsman, 6 p.m., Wednesday, February 18, Camera 12 Downtown, 201 S. Second Street, in Downtown San Jose. A feature film based on the true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, The Flying Scotsman traces Obree’s rise to breaking the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine. The film stars Jonny Lee Miller, the title character of ABC’s hit series, Eli Stone. Members of the Webcor Builders Women’s Professional Cycling Team, including Canadian Olympians Gina Grain and Erinne Willock, will introduce the film, share their recent Olympics experiences and be on hand for any post screening questions.

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LOS ANGELES, CA – AEG announced today that for the first time the 2009 Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race will be broadcast internationally. The race will be broadcast live in more than 90 countries, which includes more than 200 million households across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania and Africa. The unprecedented coverage is due to the partnership established with the Amaury Sport Organisation (owners of the Tour de France) which has assisted AEG with the international television distribution of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, further strengthening the partnership between the two cycling tour owners, which was announced in June 2008.

Amongst the line-up of broadcasters, Eurosport, the leader in cycling broadcast coverage in Europe, will broadcast the race live in 77 countries throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. Abu Dhabi Sports in the Middle East, HiSports in Nigeria, J-Sports in Japan, SBS in Australia and Sky TV in New Zealand are also amongst the race’s international broadcast partners. In addition to the live coverage, highlights will be made available to fans in a total of 201 countries and territories, in 22 languages by a total of 23 channels.

Additionally, the race will be broadcast to international military bases.
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