I was pretty glad to see Thor Hushovd win the World Championships. But, now, after this statement, I’m less enthused. Condensed, the statement says that he has never seen drugs in the sport of cycling and that they wouldn’t help him anyway.
That is the statement of a very, very naive person. Or a very stupid person. Or a flat out liar. One of those three explain it. I have a hard time believing it could be one of the first two. A guy that gets the results that he does can’t be dumb or naive. I don’t know him, but I’ve heard he is a likable guy, so it is hard for me to call him a liar. I hate problems with answers that can’t be reasoned.
I’m not sure why the current World Road Race Champion would give an interview and say what he did. It is impossible to be at his level in the sport and not understand the situation with drugs. And to say that it wouldn’t help him since he is a “sprinter”. That is just idiotic. The only thing I can think is that it was taken out of context and that the writer screwed it up somehow. Maybe that kind of explains it.
Below is an interview I did with Mountain Bike Action (MBA) back in 1998. That was 12 years ago. This was before the Festina doping scandal. It was so obvious then, without the all the media attention.
You have to click on the pages to make them readable. Keep clicking.
Naive applies only for beginning riders, people who have never competed in a race, and certainly no one who has competed for money in a race. If you’re playing for money, you’d better know how the other side can cheat, the methods they use and how to spot it. It’s true in poker, and it’s true in cycling.
Stupid doesn’t really apply here, either. Even people with IQs of 60 can read – that’s people with moderate retardation, and if you can read, you can read VeloNews, and read the reports about illegal drug use and know it’s a problem. From the fact that he can speak English, in addition to his native Norwegian, I don’t think he’s retarded.
So that leaves the hypothesis that he’s standing up there and lying, and here’s the dead giveaway:
““I have never seen drugs in the cycling scene, and never in the evenings in the urban environment, so to speak,” Yeah, never in the evenings in the urban environment. Sure thing, dude. I guess it all depends on what the meaning of the word “drugs” is, and maybe what the meaning of “never” is, too.
The english speaking media has a bad problem with taking things out of context/bad translations from other stuff.
I would believe Thor isn’t doing anything. I mean the guy was on Credit Agricole for a decade before Cervelo, which only had a few blemishes. He seems to have not changed drastically as a rider, only developing further in the sprints/classics.
What I am thinking is that Thor isn’t the sharpest tooth on the chain ring. Like this quote from last off season… “I like to go hunting. I shoot everything that moves in the forest…”
Unlike other Nordic Gods in Valhalla, Thor was not meant to be the smart one. Thor just throws the hammer down! So maybe that’s all we should expect from this guy?
Like many riders, Thor from the chances I have had to interact with him is seems genuine and nice enough. I don’t put these guys on pedestals just because they win a bike race. Sure, I have my favorites and will root for them and jeer for the ones, I don’t care for, but as I have said in the past, I love the spectacle of bike racing.
Back to Thor- I think this may be a case of hyperbole and bad translation all in one article.
Thor seems to be one of those fortunate people that wake up in a new world everyday. He seems like a simple guy who just knows how to go hard and race smart. As far as the “urban scene”; Thor don’t disco, Thor smash!
From my own personal experience in the last 20 years I’ve seen no one use drugs or had anyone try to sell me any. If you asked me if there was a drug problem in this country I’d have to say that hypertension medication is too expensive. That’s all I know, unless I read the papers.