Cervelo TestTeam's Thor Hushovd lost ground in the defense of his green jersey during stage six of the Tour de France today, with the Norwegian only able to muster a 10th place finish on the day. The result was Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) closing the gap to just 4 points to reclaim the maillot vert, and three-time winner of the competition, Robbie McEwen (Katusha), moving to within 13 points. [ed. points winner in 2002, 2004 and 2006]
The key to securing the green jersey is consistency, something that Hushovd has done better than anyone else on two previous occasions. [ed. points winner in 2005 and 2009] With wins in two consecutive stages, HTC-Columbia's Mark Cavendish has jumped up the standings to within 33 points, but would need and incredible string of luck to reach the podium in Paris.
Hushovd's Cervelo team was organized at the front with just over 5 kilometers remaining, but the trio lost their position as the kilometers ticked down towards the finish.
“It’s a pity to not be up there. It just didn’t work out today," Hushovd said. "I would like to be in top 5 or 8 going into the last kilometer, when I crossed the finish line, I didn’t even feel like I was sprinting. These things are sometimes confusing. I was too far off the back. The last kilometer was very technical and I lost the wheel of Lancaster.”
He ended up more than twice the distance he prefers under the flamme rouge, and a technical final kilometer further complicated his forward progress for the sprint. The 16 points he earned for his tenth place were less than half of the stage winner, and Petacchi's third place brought the Italian a bit close for comfort.
“It’s getting close now," he said. "I would have liked to have scored a few more points in the final sprint, but that’s the way it is. I will have a big fight all the way to Paris, but against whom, I am not sure. You have to be consistent and pick up points every day.”
Hushovd forged the way for his green jersey success last year with sorties to gobble up intermediate sprint points during stages where his pure sprinter rivals were unable to follow. He'll likely do the same this time around, but he realizes that a mix measured caution and aggression is necessary.
“It is a balancing act. It’s hard sometimes," Hushovd explained. "If I crash in a sprint, I can lose all points, so I have to be there in the sprints, but not do anything crazy. It’s important to gain points every day and never miss out any points at all.”