Hushovd not to participate in 2012 Tour de France?
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hushovd-not-to-participate-in-2012-tour-de-france)During his homecoming celebration in Melbourne, Australia, 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans suggested that was not going to share the team leadership at next year's event with world champion Thor Hushovd, who will join his BMC team in 2012.
In order to defend his crown, Evans said that he needed full team support and was unwilling to have a sprinter like Hushovd in the squad's nine-man roster during the Tour. "Regarding Thor coming to the team, the main objective of (team president) Jim Ochowicz was to get some guys onto the team to get some results early so they wouldn't rely just on me for race wins at the start of the year," he told Reuters.
"I said: 'Look Jim, you want to bring a sprinter to the team, I don't want to ride with a sprinter, because I've done that and I've done my share. If I do the Tour I want to do it for the win.'
"I was fairly clear about that and Jim was accepting of that, so it's under that basis that Thor comes to our team."
During his years at Lotto, Evans regularly had to share team leadership with fellow countryman and sprinter Robbie McEwen. His comments suggest that Hushovd, who has earned a total of ten stage victories at the Tour de France so far and could be a team leader in his own right, may be left out of the event to focus solely on Evans.
Hushovd, who has not been selected by his Garmin-Cervelo team to ride the upcoming Vuelta a Espana, has not yet reacted to Evans' comments yet. However, when he and the BMC team announced their agreement earlier this week, the Norwegian said that his "biggest goal" yet was to win Paris-Roubaix.
Cadel Evans warns Thor Hushovd to shove off
(http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/evans-warns-thor-to-shove-off/story-e6frfglf-1226114094385)
Cadel Evans has made it abundantly clear to his team that their star recruit, Norway's Thor Hushovd, must ride for him in next year's Tour de France.
Hushovd, who won the road race world championship in Geelong last year, won three stages and wore the leader's yellow jersey for eight days this year, riding for Garmin-Cervelo.
He is a major star in his own right.
A specialist sprinter who has won the green jersey at the Tour twice, Hushovd joined BMC last week, prompting immediate speculation that his presence could split the focus as Evans attempts to make it back-to-back victories.
But in Melbourne yesterday Evans said he had given team boss Jim Ochowicz a "my way or the highway" ultimatum.
"I said, 'Jim, if you want to bring in a sprinter I won't be riding the Tour with a sprinter because I've done that, I've done my share'," he said.
"If I do the Tour I want to do it for the win -- either that or I can do the Tour of Italy or the Tour of Spain or something. I was very clear about that and Jim was accepting of it. Thor comes to the team on the understanding that to win the Tour everyone has to be dedicated to the cause, especially in the modern era where teams are becoming so specialised in what they go for.
"Thor is someone who can win stages which takes the pressure off me."
Evans' uncompromising attitude relates to his troubled stint at Belgian team Lotto, where the support was split between him and fellow Australian Robbie McEwen, a superstar sprinter who won 12 stages of the Tour. Eventually the situation became untenable and both left the team within a year of each other.
Speaking after his welcome home parade in the city, Evans also said he was confident the fight against doping -- the long-time scourge of the sport -- was being won.
Cycling's controlling body, the UCI, has said this year's Tour appeared to have been the cleanest in memory.
"I think the sport has always been winning but it's a hard and complicated fight," Evans said.
"From what I see it's really improving. They're doing a great job but obviously have a lot more work to do.
"I won't say it's a never-ending fight but it's a complicated fight like fighting crime in modern society -- you can't eliminate it completely. They're doing well. I'm just sorry they don't get praised more for their efforts."
Evans expressed his good will for the fledgling GreenEDGE outfit, which plans to become the first Australian team to contest the Tour next year.
He said he was pleased to see veteran Stuart O'Grady had joined the team this week, saying: "He is still a good rider who will point them in the right direction with his influence on the younger guys."
Evans flies to the US today to resume racing in a new event in Colorado, and says he is already planning his assault on next year's Tour.
"Having done it once, I am confident I can do it again," he said.
Then after these two articles came out, Evans made a statement on his official Twitter account (CadelOfficial):
Checking the news.....I so want Thor #godofthunder on our Tour team next year....why do people say otherwise?
So I guess we are just going to have to wait and see. It's hard to know what to believe anymore, and as a huge Hushovd fan, I'm of course hoping to see him in 2012's Tour de France. I'm very curious to see what he can do for BMC while seeing what BMC can do for him. He's not just a sprinter; he's becoming more of a classics rider.
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