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Hushovd wants to start Norwegian World Tour team

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OlavEH

Oct 19, 2011
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One of the headlines in Norwegian media today.

http://www.vg.no/sport/sykkel/sykkel/hushovd-starter-norsk-profflag/a/23494312/

For those who don't understand Norwegian or bother to use google translate, the article says that Hushovd wants to start a Norwegian WT-team from 2017. He doesn't want to say anything about possible sponsors yet, however, but since he announces this I guess he is in talks with possible sponsors.

Anyway, exciting news, and I would be thrilled to see this come through. A WT-team with mostly Norwegian and Scandinavian riders, added a few high quality non-Scandinavian riders.
 
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Norbea

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Re:

jmdirt said:
jsem beat me to it, but BR said that he has been talking to people about a new team. "People" could be Thor, and/or others.
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No. Thor would never discuss a team with Riis. He absolutely hates the guy and threatened EBH with a beating if he signed for SaxoTinkoff.

Thor is serious though. I am sure he has some sponsors ready and he has a successful recruit-team with good coaches.
 
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OlavEH

Oct 19, 2011
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Re:

jmdirt said:
jsem beat me to it, but BR said that he has been talking to people about a new team. "People" could be Thor, and/or others.
Click to expand...

Hushovd's earlier manager, Atle Kvålsvoll, admitted that Hushovd had talked to him about these plans. And guys like Kurt Asle Arvesen and Gabriel Rasch could also be possible sporting directors in a Norwegian WT-team.
 
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Norbea

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Timing seems good. Norwegian cycling is on a rise. Good results in U23. Kristoff having a great season. Norwegian races such as Arctic Race is growing. Worlds in Bergen 2017. Hushovd will get the necessary publicity.

The problem will be to find Norwegian sponsors that are big enough. The Norwegian oil industry isn´t that interested. It doesn´t fit the profile of e.g. Statoil. Telenor may be a potential sponsor, but I doubt it. That leaves the fishing industry and maybe a few others, but there isn´t really any huge companies in Norway that have that kind of money for a cycling team. But there are a lot of sponsors willing to put a lot of money in to skiing in Norway, so why not cycling.
 
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Hakkapelit

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Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

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Re: Re:

yetanothergreenworld said:
Billie said:
Jonathan Vaughters ‏@Vaughters
In other news, Exxon Valdez captain decides to open ship driving academy... http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/07/news/in-the-news-hushovd-building-norwegian-worldtour-team_379505 …
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Yeah, I just saw that Tweet. What's the story? (Or backstory?)
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I don't recall if there's been anything since, but they split acrimoniously. Thor was building up to defending the rainbow jersey but had already signed with BMC for the following year. Garmin needed WT points to safeguard their WT position (that was the year that the points came in halfway through the year and it was announced it was about the future roster not the present one, leading to a lot of panic-buying of rather random riders with points from eg the Asia Tour due to races like Qinghai Lake and the late season Chinese races, such as Amir Zargari (Ag2r), Mehdi Sohrabi (Lotto), Aleksandr Serebryakov (Euskaltel) and so on. So Hushovd didn't get to do the races he wanted to do because Vaughters decided to prioritize Farrar, whose points would stay with Garmin as he'd renewed with them. Vaughters felt Hushovd was being a prima donna and he was just protecting his interests, Hushovd felt Vaughters was disrespecting the rainbow jersey and punishing him out of spite for moving on.
 
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Hakkapelit

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According to VG.no Hushovd is in talks with the Norwegian fishing-industry for sponsorship - even if this is plenty more concrete than the danish smokescreenwannabeeateam it still seem a bit - wait for it - fishy.
 
ToreBear

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There has been some talk about Team Joker perhaps expanding to a pro conti team. I find that much more sustainable. Unless whoever sponsors Hushovd team really needs guaranteed tdf, Vuelta, Giro etc every year from year one then a World Tour team is fine.

But this Hushovd project seems a bit over the top at this current stage of development for Norwegian cycling. It feels a bit like a property bubble. Team Joker and that set up seems more grounded in reality.
 
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Hakkapelit

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Quote: Verdens største lakseprodusent, John Fredriksen-kontrollerte Marine Harvest, åpner døren for å lage et norsk sykkeleventyr med Thor Hushovd.

transL__= Worldleading Salmon-producer Marine Harvest looking in to the idea of a Norwegian cycling-endeavour with ThorH.

Opens up for the possibility of salmon-coloured lycra in the peleton in the near fututre xD
 
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