Hushovd wins stage to Lourdes. Miracle ride to miracle capital.

//Hushovd wins stage to Lourdes. Miracle ride to miracle capital.

Hushovd wins stage to Lourdes. Miracle ride to miracle capital.

Hushovd less than two kilometers from summit of Aubisque.

Lourdes is the place of miracles in France. The Vatican officially recognizes 67 acts of “miraculous healing” and we can now add number 68 — sprinter wins hors categorie mountain stage.

I got a pizza there last night past midnight after a horrific traffic jam on the road down from Luz Ardiden. That was yet another miracle.

The fact is, Thor Hushovd was one of the last riders we expected to see arrive early on the final HC climb of the COl d’Aubisque. He figured he’d be back in the autobus chatting with friends.

Instead, he came up through the mist on a mission, tracking down French climber David Moncoutie (Cofidis) and the rabbit out front, Jeremy Roy (FDJ). A strong man sprinter leaving Contador, Evans and the Brother Schleck down the mountain.

The Aubisque is over 16 k long and the majority of the pain is at 6 to 9%, with the ramps at the top maxing out even worse. Yet here is the Paris-Roubaix hardman, jamming up the mountain. COuld Mark Cavendish or even Hushovd’s teammate Tyler Farrar pull off such an epic feat?

Hushovd would showcase his descending skills in catching Moncoutie ripping down the Soulor. He then dropped the Cofidis rider and with three kilometers remaining, he dispatched Roy and rode to a solo victory in Lourdes.

After a slow start to Hushovd’s season and a rough transition with the Garmin organization, things seem to have turned almost miraculously. A yellow jersey in the tour and a stage win while wearing the rainbow jersey of world champion.

“It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” said Hushovd. “I was happy to be in the break. I was obviously strong. I went on the attack on the Aubisque so that I could ride at my own pace. My goal was to come back on the descent, which I finally managed to do. It’s incredible how quickly things have turned for me. Yesterday and the few days before I was feeling tired, but I did the right thing yesterday by taking it easy and losing quite a lot of time. I think that saved my legs and that’s why I won today.”

Saving legs, saving souls — that’s what they do in Lourdes. Garmin-Cervelo always has a revelation for us in the Tour de France. Vande Velde, Wiggins, Hesjedal, Tom Danielson and now Hushovd’s wild ride up the Aubisque.

Chapeau with some rosary beads on top.

By |2019-02-03T16:16:19-08:00July 15th, 2011|Uncategorized|4 Comments

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4 Comments

  1. Franck July 15, 2011 at 2:00 pm - Reply

    Try left driving it down the mountain on your way down from plateau de Beille and you will save a lot of time.

    • TwistedSpoke July 15, 2011 at 3:39 pm - Reply

      Franck, give me some details. I'm already tired just thinking about the drive back down. Details, baby, details. Matt

  2. Franck July 16, 2011 at 4:16 pm - Reply

    Ok for the alpes now, whenever it is a one way up and down the mountain, on the way down do not hesitate to drive on the left side of the road since nobody will be coming up. That said it still took me 2 hours for the 15k down Plateau de Beille today and that's with following at times the gendarmes with full siren going on. Left Beille at 7pm and arrived in Foix at 10:30pm had some quick diner then drove to our chateau for the night (20k) from tomorrow start. It's now 1:15 am and I am finally going to bed. What an f$&@ing day it was…

    • TwistedSpoke July 18, 2011 at 3:51 pm - Reply

      Franck, sorry to hear of your miserable day. That's the way it was for me on Luz Ardiden but on the col d'aubisuqe I followed on of those police convoys down super fast and had very little trouble. You just never ever know what the situation will be. Matt

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