Cervelo TestTeam concluded its highly successful Tour de France debut Sunday with a view from the podium in Paris.
Cervelo TestTeam's durable and experienced sprinter and Norwegian God of Thunder Thor Hushovd didn't take any unnecessary risks in Sunday's thrilling finale on the Champs-Élysées and crossed the line sixth in the bunch sprint behind winner Mark Cavendish to secure the green points jersey.
That guaranteed him a trip to the most prestigious podium in cycling, winning his second sprinter and points jersey since 2005.
"I started this morning with one aim, to keep the green jersey," Hushovd commented in Paris. "I battled throughout the race to win this jersey. I didn't take any risks in the final sprint. There are a lot of things that can happen to that final rush to the line."
Hushovd won the so-called sprinter jersey with 280 points, 10 more than arch-rival Mark "MC Hammer" Cavendish of Team Columbia-HTC.
Key to Hushovd's victory was his consistency in the sprints and his dramatic and impressive solo breakaway in the queen's stage across the Alps when he won 12 points at two intermediate sprints completely uncontested.
"I won this jersey because I'm more experienced. I know how to win it," Hushovd said. "I've done it before and I've fought for the jersey many, many years. Cavendish is the fastest sprinter, but I am the most consistent, and that's why I won the jersey."
Hushovd earned a spot on the final podium in Paris as one of four categories that are awarded jerseys during the Tour. The others are the yellow jersey for the GC, the white jersey for the best rider under 25 and the polka-dot jersey for the best climber.
"It's very emotional to stand on the podium and receive this jersey. I'm proud of what I've done," he said. "It was a hard battle to get more points than Cavendish, but that's what I've done in the end. His big goal is to win the green jersey and I know he's going to get many of them in the future, but I am going to give him a big fight in the next few years."
The podium spot for Hushovd culminated a highly successful 2009 Tour de France for Cervelo TestTeam, racing in its first Tour de France in its first year as a team.
The squad won two stages (one with Hushovd and another with Heinrich Haussler into Colmar) and notched a handful of top-5s with Hushovd in the sprints and Hayden Roulston in a breakaway.
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