# Thor Hushovd

Thor Hushovd (born 18 January 1978) is a Norwegian former professional road bicycle racer. He is known for sprinting and time trialing; Hushovd is a three-time Norwegian national road race champion (2004, 2010, 2013), and was the winner of the 2010 World Road Race Championships. He was the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France, and first Scandinavian to win the road race in cycling world road championship. He is also the Scandinavian with the most stage wins in Grand Tours. He is widely considered the greatest Norwegian cyclist of all time. He retired in September 2014.

## Career

Born in Grimstad, Aust-Agder, Norway, Thor won the under-23 time trial world championship and the under-23 versions of Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Tours before turning professional in 1998. He was Norwegian time trial champion in 2004 and 2005 and road race champion in 2004 and 2010. In 2006, he won seven UCI ProTour races and two stages of the Tour de France. He won the prologue in Strasbourg and led after the first day despite a cut arm. He continued with stitches and regained the yellow jersey after stage 2 with a third place. He won the last stage, beating Robbie McEwen in a sprint, thus making him the only person to win the first stage or prologue and the last stage of the Tour de France in the same year. In the 2006 Vuelta a España he won stage 6, wore the golden jersey for three stages and won the points classification
At the 2008 Tour de France, Hushovd won stage 2 in a bunch finish.

### 2009

In 2009, Hushovd rode for the Cervélo TestTeam. He took one of the team's first victories of the season by winning Stage 3 of the Tour of California. At the Tour de France, he won green jersey for the points classification for the second time, ahead of Mark Cavendish. Typically the sprinter with the most stage victories wins the points classification, though Thor only won one stage, stage 6, while Cavendish won six. After a controversy on stage 14, where Cavendish was relegated to the back of the peloton for impeding Hushovd, Hushovd attacked alone on stage 17, a mountain stage, winning two intermediate sprints. Hushovd won stage 3 at the Tour of Missouri – 114 mi (183 km) over rolling hills – in September 2009, in a sprint finish.

### 2010

On 9 May 2010, Hushovd broke his collarbone on a training ride after colliding with a young girl. At the Tour de France, Hushovd won the third stage, which was an unusual one for the Tour since it featured 13 km (8.1 mi) of cobblestones. He prevailed in the sprint involving five other riders. That victory netted him the Green jersey, but he ultimately lost it to Alessandro Petacchi of the Lampre–Farnese Vini team.
On 3 October 2010, Thor won the road world championship, which started in Melbourne and finished in Geelong, Australia. He was the first Norwegian to win the rainbow jersey. VeloNews said: "Hushovd...dominated a bunch sprint at the end of a thrilling 267 km race, beating Denmark's Matti Breschel and Australia's Allan Davis." The favorite, Philippe Gilbert, was caught with three kilometers to go.

### 2011

During the 2011 Tour de France Hushovd took the lead in the general classification and surprised many by keeping it through several hilly stages that were not expected to suit him and second placed Cadel Evans could not over turn the 1 second advantage that Hushovd held. Thor surprised his fans again on stage 13 by being one of the first riders over the hors catégorie Col d'Aubisque and using his superior descending skills (he was clocked at 69 mph at one point) to catch and pass the leaders David Moncoutié and Jérémy Roy to take the stage. He used his descending skills again on stage 16 when he, Edvald Boasson Hagen and teammate Ryder Hesjedal went clear on the descent of the Col de Manse (a descent that overall runner up Andy Schleck deemed too dangerous for the tour) and beat Boasson Hagen in the final sprint to take his second stage of the tour.

### 2012

In 2012, Hushovd joined BMC Racing Team on a three-year contract. Suffering from a then unknown medical condition, he had to abandon the Giro d'Italia and cancelled his scheduled participation to the Tour de France and Olympic road race. The medical impairment was later identified as a "virus and muscle inflammation" by team doctors. Thor hardly achieved any notable result in the season except fourteenth at Paris–Roubaix. In October, he said that he hoped to put the bad year and the virus that ruined it behind him and that he was optimistic and motivated about the 2013 season.

### 2013

Hushovd earned his first win since the 2011 Tour of Britain with a sprint victory over Tom-Jelte Slagter of Blanco Pro Cycling on stage 1 of the Tour du Haut Var in February. It was also his first victory with BMC Racing Team.

### Retirement

In June 2014, Hushovd announced that he would retire after the 2014 UCI Road World Championships after struggling with Infectious mononucleosis since 2012. However, after a hard crash suffered at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, Hushovd said he would not participate in the World Championships. His last race was the GP Impanis-Van Petegem in September.
In 2015 Thor announced that he had started working on organizing an all-Norwegian UCI WorldTeam, with a plan to launch in the 2017 season to coincide with the hosting of the 2017 UCI Road World Championships in the Norwegian city of Bergen. The plans were put on hold due to lack of funding, although Hushovd never abandoned them.
In the meantime, the Norwegian cycling team Uno-X was established. The team achieved UCI ProTeam status in 2020. Hushovd was initially not affiliated with Uno-X, although he used his legendary status in the world of cycling to help influence the ASO in Uno-X's mission for a Wild Card to the 2023 Tour de France. In January 2024, Uno-X announced that Hushovd would become their new General Manager.

## Personal life

Thor currently resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with his wife Susanne, and their daughter Isabel (b. 2009). The Hushovds also maintain an offseason residency in Grimstad, Aust-Agder, Norway.

## Career achievements
### Major results
#### 1995

    1st Time trial, National Junior Road Championships

#### 1996

    National Junior Road Championships
       1st Road race
       1st Time trial

#### 1998

    UCI Road World Under-23 Championships
       1st Time trial
       5th Road race
    1st Paris–Roubaix Espoirs
    1st Paris–Tours Espoirs
    5th Overall Tour of Sweden

#### 1999 (1 pro win)

    1st Overall Ringerike GP
       1st Stages 2, 4 & 5
    1st Tour du Loir-et-Cher
    1st Stage 5 Tour of Sweden
    6th Time trial, UCI Road World Under-23 Championships
    6th Overall Ronde de l'Isard

#### 2000 (1)

    1st Stage 1 Tour de Picardie
    1st Prologue Tour de l'Ain
    2nd Overall Ringerike GP
       1st Stages 3, 4 & 5
    2nd Grand Prix de Denain
    4th Overall Bayern Rundfahrt
    4th Giro della Provincia di Siracusa
    5th HEW Cyclassics
    7th Time trial, Olympic Games

#### 2001 (4)

    1st Overall Tour de Normandie
       1st Points classification
       1st Prologue, Stages 1 & 4
    1st Overall Tour of Sweden
       1st Stages 1a (ITT) & 3
    1st Overall Paris–Corrèze
    1st Stage 5 (TTT) Tour de France
    4th Paris–Tours
    9th Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts

#### 2002 (3)

    National Road Championships
       1st Time trial
       3rd Road race
    1st Stage 18 Tour de France
    1st Stage 2 Tour de l'Ain
    5th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
    6th Overall Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne
    8th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Anthony Morin)

#### 2003 (3)

    1st Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
    1st Stage 2 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Castilla y León
    3rd Overall Tour du Limousin
    5th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    7th Overall Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne
    10th GP Ouest–France

#### 2004 (10)

    National Road Championships
       1st Road race
       1st Time trial
    1st Overall French Road Cycling Cup
    1st Grand Prix de Denain
    1st Classic Haribo
    1st Tour de Vendée
    1st Stage 8 Tour de France
    1st Stage 1 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 1 & 2
    3rd Grand Prix de Cholet – Pays de Loire
    3rd Grand Prix de Fourmies
    5th Overall Critérium International
    7th Ronde van Midden-Zeeland
    8th Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts
    8th Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan
    9th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
       1st Stage 3

#### 2005 (5)

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    Volta a Catalunya
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 7
    1st Stage 5 Vuelta a España
    1st Stage 2 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    1st Stage 4 Tour du Limousin
    1st Points classification, Tour de France
    3rd Milan–San Remo
    5th Gent–Wevelgem
    6th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
       1st Stage 1
    9th Paris–Roubaix

#### 2006 (7)

    1st Gent–Wevelgem
    Tour de France
       1st Prologue & Stage 20
       Held after Stages 1 & 3
    Vuelta a España
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 6
       Held after Stages 2–4
    Volta a Catalunya
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 3
    1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    1st Stage 4 Tirreno–Adriatico
    1st Points classification, Four Days of Dunkirk
    2nd Classic Haribo
    4th Paris–Tours

#### 2007 (2)

    1st Stage 4 Tour de France
    1st Stage 7 Giro d'Italia
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd GP Ouest–France
    3rd Grand Prix de Wallonie
    4th Paris–Bourges
    5th Grand Prix d'Isbergues
    8th Paris–Tours
    8th Paris–Brussels

#### 2008 (6)

    1st Stage 2 Tour de France
    1st Stage 1 Tour Méditerranéen
    1st Stage 6 Four Days of Dunkirk
    Volta a Catalunya
       1st Points classification
       1st Prologue & Stage 1
    Paris–Nice
       1st Points classification
       1st Prologue
    3rd Omloop Het Volk
    9th Milan–San Remo

#### 2009 (7)

    1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    Tour de France
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 6
       Combativity award Stage 17
    Volta a Catalunya
       1st Stages 1 & 6
    Tour of Missouri
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 3
    1st Stage 3 Tour of California
    1st Stage 4 Tour du Poitou Charentes et de la Vienne
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    3rd Paris–Roubaix
    3rd Milan–San Remo
    4th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
    5th Grand Prix of Aargau Canton

#### 2010 (5)

    1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    1st Road race, National Road Championships
    1st Stage 3 Tour de France
    1st Stage 6 Vuelta a España
    2nd Paris–Roubaix
    6th Milan–San Remo
    6th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne

#### 2011 (4)

    Tour de France
       1st Stages 2 (TTT), 13 & 16
       Held from Stage 2–9
    1st Stage 4 Tour de Suisse
    1st Stage 4 Tour of Britain
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    4th GP Ouest–France
    8th Paris–Roubaix

#### 2013 (9)

    National Road Championships
       1st Road race
       2nd Time trial
    1st Overall Arctic Race of Norway
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 2 & 4
    Tour de Pologne
       1st Stages 3 & 5
    1st Stage 3 Tour of Austria
    1st Stage 1 Tour of Beijing
    4th Grand Prix d'Isbergues
    5th Overall Tour du Haut Var
       1st Stage 1
    6th GP Ouest–France
    8th Vattenfall Cyclassics

#### 2014

    9th Gent–Wevelgem

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — |
| Tour de France | DNF | 112 | 118 | 104 | 116 | 120 | 138 | 96 | 106 | 111 | 68 | — | — | — |
| / Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | DNF | 82 | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — |

### Classics results timeline

| Monument | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Milan–San Remo | — | 48 | 73 | — | — | 3 | 13 | — | 9 | 3 | 6 | 127 | — | DNF | 56 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | 46 | 81 | — | 38 | 31 | 14 | 60 | 27 | — | 57 | 53 | 55 | DNF | 90 |
| Paris–Roubaix | 63 | DNF | 33 | — | 17 | 9 | — | 43 | DNF | 3 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 19 |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — |
| Classic | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | DNF | 51 | 18 | 38 | — | DNF | 12 | — | 3 | 1 | 32 | 33 | 29 | 77 | DNF |
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | 41 | 20 | 41 | — | 11 | DNF | DNF | — | 34 | — | 6 | — | — | NH | — |
| E3 Harelbeke | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | DNF | DNF | 4 | DNF | 52 | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | 11 | 70 | — | DNF | 5 | 1 | 11 | 15 | — | — | 70 | 48 | 17 | 9 |
| Hamburg Cyclassics | 5 | 96 | 23 | 118 | 97 | — | — | 82 | — | — | — | 65 | — | 8 | DNF |
| GP Ouest–France | — | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | 2 | — | DNF | — | 4 | — | 6 | — |
| Paris–Tours | 75 | 4 | 28 | — | — | 23 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Major championships timeline

| Event | Event | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Olympic Games | Time trial | 7 | Not held | Not held | Not held | 31 | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | NH |
| Olympic Games | Road race | DNF | Not held | Not held | Not held | DNF | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | NH |
| World Championships | Time trial | 22 | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| World Championships | Road race | 109 | — | 142 | — | — | 114 | 114 | 19 | — | DNF | 1 | 170 | — | DNF |
| National Championships | Time trial | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| National Championships | Road race | 7 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | 3 | 1 | 3 | — | 1 |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |