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Thor Hushovd Interview: By Joey Esterhuyzen

October 13, 2010, 6:36pm

By Joey Esterhuyzen

After recently having won the 2010 World Cycling Championships in Geelong, we chose a select few questions from our readers and passed them on to the Champion himself. But before we go there, here’s a brief overview of the man wearing the Champions Stripes for the next year.

Thor Hushovd has a renowned ability for enduring great suffering, all in pursuit of a race win. This trait showed very early in his career, when he won the U23Men World Time Trial Championships. He then went on to win the U23Men version of the Paris – Roubaix Classic, before turning professional in 1998.

Seemingly unstoppable, Hushovd went on to claim honours in the Norwegian Time Trial Championships, both in 2004 and 2005. Claiming the most UCI wins of any Norwegian rider, Thor Hushovd has won seven UCI ProTour events.

Multiple stage wins in Tour De France and Giro D’Italia are all part of Hushovd’s palmares and go without mentioning – as with his Tour of California stage win. Surprisingly enough, Thor was not an outright favourite leading into this year’s World Championships.

On October 3, 2010, Hushovd won the UCI Road World Championships, which started in Melbourne and finished on a circuit in nearby Geelong, Australia. He was the first-ever Norwegian to win the men's elite road title. And we’re the first Australian website to submit reader questions to him…

Joey Esterhuyzen: Thor, thanks for your time! How’s life been, after having won the coveted Rainbow jersey?

Thor Hushovd: It’s been good. I’ve been busy, but I’m really enjoying it.

Joey Esterhuyzen: Well you deserve every stripe, so congratulations! Our readers have submitted questions they would have wanted to ask you… We did try narrow them down a bit, and got it down to three pages! But here are the surviving few…

Will Orchard – NSW: What is your main source of motivation during training throughout the year?

Hushovd: To always perform better, and get more out of my body. I’m also always thinking of my next big race, and that’s my motivation.

Boyd Friis – Victoria: As a sprinter, do you train to sprint or is it a natural ability?

Hushovd: Yeah I train to sprint. I do a lot of strength training and intense intervals – so lots of training specifically for my sprinting.

(doorbell rings: “Sorry I just have somebody at my door”…….. “Hey look I have someone on the phone from Australia yeah, can we yeah…”…… “Oh sure no problem, cheers”

Hushovd: Just some jerseys from Castelli, sorry… Carry on.

Joey Esterhuyzen: (laughs) no problem, tough life hey!

Hushovd: Ah but somebody has to do it no? (laughs)

Damon Maloney – Victoria: What training do you undertake specifically for the Classics, like Paris Roubaix?

Hushovd: I do several long, very intense intervals as well as longer sessions on the bike, like 6 hours. You really have to work on your endurance, working to make your engine bigger you know. Stronger, for much longer.

Chris Walker – Melbourne: In 1993 the Worlds were held in Oslo. Were you watching it then, when Armstrong won?

Hushovd: I was just 15, so I was like “wow, all these big riders coming here for the Worlds”. It was really great. I rode the circuit too, and it feels like so long ago now that I am World Champion!

Nick Symons - Victoria: Knowing you’re the best in the world, how do you now manage to gauge yourself against others?

Hushovd: I still have a lot of respect for all the other riders in the peloton, so that is the same. Also there is more pressure, and people expect more from me as World Champion. But in the end, I’m still the same person as yesterday, and the day before…

Steven Martin – Victoria: What’s the most important part of your ‘pre race’ preparation?

Hushovd: My coffee! We have an espresso machine on the bus, and before a long race I like to just relax and keep warm. We have a team meeting, and go from there.

Matt McMahon – Victoria: When did you realize you had what it takes to become a Pro Cyclist?

Hushovd: When I won the Paris Roubaix for youth riders, I thought “hey I can really do this” – so I got in touch with teams and started making connections. Then the teams started getting in touch with me and it went from there.

Callum Fagg – Tasmania: Which race are you most looking forward to, wearing your World Champions jersey?

Hushovd: Definitely the Paris Roubaix! It’s a race I would really like to win next year…

Steve Nightingale – NSW: What went through your mind as you crossed the line, becoming World Champion?

Hushovd: It was completely different. Very hard for me to understand what had happened! I just focused on passing all the other riders, but when I crossed the line it was really something different to any other win. It was like “you’ve won the World Championships” but it still didn’t sink in at the time…

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Some good questions there, thanks to the readers! Thor, has it sunk it yet that you are the 2010 World Champion – the best rider in the world?

Hushovd: It sounds crazy when I hear you say that! Yes now it has. I was sitting on the plane with champagne, and it was really nice just taking it all in. No people around me, just peace and quiet. And that’s when it really kind of made sense.

How did your homeland of Norway react to your win?

Hushovd: Well I haven’t been back there yet, but everyone in Norwegian cycling is very happy (with my Worlds win) In the past seven years, cycling has grown a lot there – so they’re all very happy.

Last question! With 2011 in mind, what does it mean to be joining a new team, Garmin – Cervelo, with the World Champions jersey on your shoulders?

Hushovd: I’m not on the team as yet, so I’m just focusing on what’s at hand now. But yes I’m quite excited going into 2011, with all the Classics events in mind. It’s a big team, and now we will also have the rainbow jersey… I can’t wait for (it to) start.

VISIT http://www.joeysracing.com/

Tags: Thor Hushovd, World Championships, Geelong, Joey Esterhuyzen
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on October 13, 2010, 8:22pm

Pat McQuaid Press Conference and Interview

October 2, 2010, 4:31pm

PRESS CONFERENCE

INTERVIEW

Tags: Pat McQuaid
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on October 2, 2010, 4:36pm

Taylor Phinney Audio Interview

September 29, 2010, 2:16pm

Audio Interview with U23 Men’s Time Trial run and winner Americas’ Taylor Phinney. For more photos of the time trial click here.

Tags: Taylor Phinney Audio Interview, UCI World Championships
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on September 29, 2010, 2:25pm

Kaarle McCulloch: Cycling Tribe Interview

April 8, 2010, 4:09pm

Sponsors: NSWIS, AIS, Casco, Bates Bikes

Team: Jayco

Career Highlight: 2009 and 2010 Team Sprint World Champion

Favourite Quote: “You can’t have the rainbow without the rain”

Cycling Tribe: Kaarle, thanks for your time. How have you pulled up after the World Champs?

Kaarle McCulloch: I am currently enjoying some time off, I have pulled up reasonably well, I was pretty exhausted last week sleeping mostly every night for well over 12hours. The Worlds week is a massive week both physically and mentally and it certainly does take its toll.

CT: Were you disappointed with your 6^th place in the 500m time trial on day 1?

KM: Yes and no, I think there were a few factors contributing to my performance, of which my coach and I will sit down and evaluate when I get back from my break. I gave it everything I could in that particular moment and the result I got was what I got and I can’t really ask much more of myself. I know from my results from the rest of the competition that my 500m result was not indicative of my form. I was definitely on track for a sub 34.0 times, but it wasn’t to be in Copenhagen – next time!

CT: You turned it all around in the team sprint though. Did it all just come together for you and Anna?

KM: Anna and I have something special that is a little indescribable. We know how each other works and we don’t have to say a word to each other in order to go out and do what we do. We each have a job and we go out and we do it to the best of our abilities. We don’t over complicate it, we just do it. I was glad to have a good result in the Team Sprint, I think it was much more reflective of the amount of hard work I have done this season. As for it coming together, yeah I guess it did, but all the work had been done well prior to that event so it was just a matter of us doing it – and we did. I think the exciting thing for us is that there is a lot of room for improvement.

CT: It marked your second world title and world record in the women's team sprint. Was this victory sweeter that the first?

KM: I think every result has a special sweet moment. This year’s sweet moment for me came with marking my territory as Australia’s best second lap rider – no one has ridden faster than me for a second lap! Last year I have to say that Anna definitely had the special moment riding an 18.6 and for me this year riding a 14.1 was absolutely incredible – but both times couldn’t be achieved without one another. Also of course being the first women to ride sub 33 was pretty special and you can even hear me on the video footage on euro sport screaming when I saw the time!

CT: How do you find spending so much time with Anna (Meares)? Have your learnt much from her?

KM: Of course, Anna has a wealth of experience that supersedes my experience by a long shot. I learn from her every day and I like spending time with her both on and off the bike. We have a good friendship in that we can go to the movies, go shopping etc off the bike but on the bike we can either team up or use each other to get the best out of ourselves. It’s definitely hard at times because we both want to be the best and we do have to ride against each other, but at the end of the day we both train hard and the best athlete will always win and I think we are both professional enough to recognise that.

CT: Were you disappointed with your 6^th placing in the individual sprint?

KM: The sprint was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I qualified well and initially I raced well until I suffered from severe cramps just before the quarter finals – I don’t want to dwell too much on that experience, it was quite heartbreaking on my behalf because I knew I had the goods to be a true contender for the World Title. My goal was a top five finish so I was just off that, next year I will definitely have my eyes on the finals though and that rainbow jersey. I think for me the biggest thing I take away from this meet came from the sprint day when I figured out the best way to approach it mentally. You can’t be hyped up all the time because the sprint is such a long day so the moment I go to the area where we draw for positions I am switched on and the moment I hop off my bike I am switched off – sounds easy to do but it’s harder to put into practice.

CT: Talk us through the 4^th place in the Keirin?

KM: It was my goal to make the major final of the Keirin. Previous to this year I had never even made the second round at worlds and struggle quite a bit at World Cups, so I was pretty stoked to make the second round, despite doing it the hard way through the repechage. For me I knew my best chance at winning the Keirin was to ride from the front, but coming off someone’s wheel. In the final I was sitting 5^th wheel and with so many big hitters in front of me I knew I had to make a move to the front, which I did. I then let Simona Krupeckaite slip in front of me and I tried hard to protect the wheel. I have little experience in Keirins and I needed to be a little more aggressive with the attacks around the outside and protecting my wheel. As they say though you live and you learn, come London I expect to be able to lead out Keirins and win – I think that is the best way to go and I would expect that that is how the gold will be won in London – but then again anything can happen in a Keirin!

CT: What are the main take home leaning experiences from the World Champs?

KM: I can bounce back; no matter how hard I fall I know I can pick myself up even in a matter of minutes sometimes. I have taken yet another step forward to becoming the best in the world. I would put myself realistically in the top 5 in all events at the moment. I walk away only half satisfied though having met only half of my goals so I will be out looking to improve this year at the Commonwealth Games and again in Appledorn for the 2011 Worlds.

CT: You’ve stated that in a few years from now you aim to be the best in the world. What changes to your training regime do you think you will have to make in order to achieve this?

KM: No matter how good you are, or if you are 20^th best in the world or the best if you want to stay there or get there training needs to be dynamic. It doesn’t have to be drastic changes but if you want to be better you must be ever evolving, learning, adapting, taking chances. I sometimes think I am my coach’s worst nightmare because I am always throwing suggestions at him, asking why we do things etc. But at the end of the day I know us Aussies are on the right track because we are never complacent or satisfied. I have a few things to work on off the bike like the psychological side of racing and even just balancing everyday life at home.

CT: So what’s on the cards now for you for the rest of 2010?

KM: Commonwealth Games take full priority now. I have made a commitment to treat it as a dress rehearsal for the Olympics in terms of soaking up the atmosphere and the actual pre race prep that we will be doing. I am unsure yet as to what sort of form I will be carrying into the Games as our focus is largely on the selection process for the Olympics but either way I will be going into Delhi with an individual win as a major goal.

CT: Before you go. Do you have a favourite training session that you regularly do which you feel really helps get you into the sort of form that you are seeking?

KM: Any type of speed work always helps bring on form; however the form won’t come if the base work has not been done. My favourite time of the year for training is definitely the last 4weeks leading into a massive competition and my favourite sessions always involve the motor bike at high speeds but I also thrive off the endless hours spent slogging it out on the road, or on the cold track in winter and in the gym prior to the season beginning. As the famous saying goes by Muhammed Ali:

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

CT: Thanks Kaarle.

Tags: Kaarle McCulloch, Australian Cycling, World Championships, 500m time trial
Read more | Comments (1) | Updated on April 8, 2010, 4:19pm

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