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 Jul 27th, 09. The 2009 Tour de France battle for the green jersey reminded us why it's called the "points" jersey and not the "sprint" jersey.
Winnner of the 2009 points jersey (c)Sirotti
Cervelo TestTeam's Thor Hushovd won the 2009 Tour de France green jersey after some incredibly smart and consistent riding.
The Norwegian only won one stage to Mark Cavendish's six, but Hushovd's consistent placings in the sprint stages, his challenge for interim sprint points and his surprising breakaway in a mountain stage earned him a final ten point lead.
"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."
"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."
How the green jersey was won
St 3 - Early days +16 Advantage to Cavendish
Cavendish looked unbeatable on stage 2 & 3 where the Columbia HTC train worked perfectly to deliver the sprinter in the right position where his explosive power was unmatchable. Only on the wet and cold Stage 6 was Cavendish first beaten, Hushovd was the man to do it.
St 6 - Advantage +1 Cavendish
On stage 6 where wet roads caused havoc in the peloton, Hushovd remained upright to take line honours and get within one point of taking the green jersey from Cavendish's shoulders. "Of course, winning makes me very happy. It's always important to win a stage at the Tour de France," Hushovd said. Cavendish was in the bunch sprint but the climbs had taken the edge off the speedster and he finished in 16th place.
Stage victory for Hushovd (c)Sirotti
St 8 - Advantage + 11 Hushovd
Two days later on Stage 8, the second day in the mountains, Hushovd left his fellow sprinters behind on the brutal early cat1 climb.
Hushovd won the the first two interim sprints earning the maximum 12 points to give him the green jersey for the first time this Tour.
Despite his eleven point lead, Hushovd knew the battle for green was only beginning.
"Cavendish is really fast and he's already won some sprints, so it will be difficult to win. Eleven points (lead) is nothing, so I will take it day-to-day and try to save some energy, because today I went really deep," he said.
Hushovd racing in green (c)Sirotti
St 10 - Advantage + 6 Hushovd
On stage 10 Hushovd and Cavendish again went head to head. With Cavendish's explosive final push, Hushovd had to be satisfied with second place. Cavendish only managed to claw back five points, but he felt he was closer to green.
Rubbing his green Oakley Jawbones as he crossed the line, Cavendish later said, "It's a nice colour, maybe I'll get to wear more green before the end of the race again. I'll certainly try my best to get the green jersey back."
St 11 - Advantage +7 Cavendish
One day later Cavendish was back in green after taking his 4th stage win. "It would be nice to hold onto this all the way through, but it doesn't change my gameplan. My big aim is still to reach Paris and win on the Champs Elysées," Cavendish said.
Back in green (c)Sirotti
St 13 - Advantage + 5 Hushovd
Hushovd regained the green jersey after sprinting to sixth in Stage 13.
The big Norwegian enjoyed an exceptional day climbing while Cavendish finished in the gruppetto more than 23 minutes in arrears, missing out on all points.
"I will never give up on the green jersey. I will go 100 percent all the way to Paris to fight for the green jersey," Hushovd said.
St 14 - Advantage +10 Cavendish's disqualification
Hushovd has words with Cavendish (c)Sirotti
Hushovd believed Cavendish nudged Hushovd too close to the race barriers. The judges agreed Cav's spint was dangerous and relegated him to last place, with no points for the stage while Hushovd claimed 13.
"It's OK if he's faster than me, I accept it, when he doesn't follow the rules, then that's not good" said Hushovd after the stage. Cavendish is not known for keeping quiet and he made his feelings obvious with strong words to both Hushovd and the media.
St 17 - Advantage +30 Hushovd. Hushovd makes a statement
Making a point (c)Sirotti
Hushovd attacked alone over two first-category climbs. He won two intermediate sprints midway through the course to gain 12 additional points. His 230 points to Cavendish's 200 looked certain to see him in green at the end of the Tour.
"I think this is the best day I've ever had on the bike," Hushovd said. "If I win the jersey by 10 points, I can say that I had built a sufficient buffer on this stage to Le Grand Bornand," he said. Hushovd did win in Paris by exactly ten points.
St 19 - Advantage + 25 Hushovd.
Cavendish managed to claw back another five points on Stage 19 where neither Hushovd nor Cavendish were expecting another sprint duel. Again Cavendish and his Columbia HTC reigned supreme with Hushovd second.
Stage 21 - Final Advantage +10 Hushovd
Paris glory for Cavendish - Green glory for Hushovd
Continuing his total dominance of the sprints in the 2009 Tour de France, Columbia HTC's Mark Cavendish took the final sprinters prize by winning on the Champs Elysées today.
Friends in the end
Cavendish says he has a lot of respect of Hushovd. "Everybody knows I mouth off when I am upset. It's the mentality of a sprinter, you get upset in the heat of the moment. When you have time to reflect on it you see you are in the wrong. He's a great, great guy. On the bike and off the bike he's a lovely guy. We've always got on well and to fall out over something so silly it's not really worth it. Everything is fine," he said.
Lines drawn for the 2010 battle
Looking towards the 2010 Tour de France, Cavendish can't deny he wants the green jersey. "I still want stage wins. What I want best is to win, it's the feeling I like the best. I'll do that and hopefully the green jersey will come."
Hushovd had the final say, "[Cavendish's] 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," he said.
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