CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE:THOR HUSHOVD, who needed the assistance of the commissaires to snatch the green jersey from Mark Cavendish's grasp in the 2009 Tour de France, could be on the way to inflicting further disappointment.

A perfectly judged victory in yesterday’s 152km ride from Pau to Lourdes gave the 33-year-old Norwegian his first stage win this year, bringing him closer to the British sprinter at the top of the points standings.

He denies that it is on his agenda. “I’ve been saying that for weeks,” he said last night. “I wanted to win a stage this year and wear the yellow jersey. I wore it for seven days last week, and that’s better than winning the green jersey.”

Its my best win on the Tour de France because we had to climb the Aubisque, which did not suit me and I finished on my own with the rainbow jersey on my back.

Since losing the yellow jersey, I was really tired because I gave it my all in the first week. But I had the legs back today to go for it.

Most of his duties have been in support of other riders in the Garmin-Carvelo team. History, however, suggests that no one represents a greater threat.

Before taking the green jersey two years ago, when Cavendish was controversially deprived of a stage win in Besancon, Hushovd had won it for the first time in 2005. He knows what it takes, and the greater variety of his weaponry was perfectly illustrated by yesterday’s win in a stage that included the hors-categorie Col d’Aubisque and concluded with the successful pursuit of a lone escapee.

Pipped for 11th place in the intermediate sprint behind the 10 riders who comprised the early break, Cavendish gestured in exasperation at the two Movistar riders who had outmanoeuvred him. One of them, Jose Joaquin Rojas, currently lies second in the green jersey standings; he picked up an extra point, thereby denying it to the HTC-Highroad leader.

Hushovd also had the pleasure of winning a stage in the rainbow-striped white jersey of the world road race champion. The holder is supposed to spend the rest of the year flourishing the colours, rather than hiding them in the peloton.

When Jeremy Roy, the winner of Thursday’s prize for winning the climb of the Tourmalet, made a solo attack and crossed the Aubisque in lonely majesty, Hushovd was lying third and two minutes down, but his long chase animated the final 40km and ended in success when both he and David Moncoutie passed Roy on the approach to the centre of Lourdes.

The finale was a nail-biting cat and mouse game between the young Frenchman and the two chasers, but there was no suspense left when Hushovd surged ahead.

Its a bitter pill to swallow. It was close but close or not close, the only thing that matters is to win, said Roy afterwards.

The Francaise des Jeux rider, who also led the race on the top of the Tourmalet climb in the previous stage, at least earned the best climbers polka-dot jersey.

Since the Aubisque came in the middle of the stage, followed by a flat run-in, the 13th stage was never going to interest the men fighting over the general classification. Andreas Kloden of RadioShack and Lars Boom of Rabobank abandoned the race as a result of previous injuries, but the top guns were content to spend the day in recuperative obscurity while Thomas Voeckler, wearing the yellow jersey for the fourth day in a row, remained near the front.

Voeckler seems likely to surrender the overall lead today,when the race heads back into the Hautes-Pyrenees for a 168km stage starting at Saint-Gaudens, incorporating the first-category Col de la Core and Col d’Agnes. A finish at the 1,780m summit of the hors-categorie Plateau de Beille invites a dramatic and possible race-defining move from one of the fancied runners.

Even though the French have yet to win a stage, they now hold three of the distinctive jerseys, Roy being King of the Mountains and his team-mate Arnold Jeannesson wearing the best young riders white garment.

The yellow jersey stayed with Frenchman Voeckler after his Europcar team managed the main bunch to bring him safely to the finish line.

The team controlled the race well. We all had painful legs but we did the job, he said.

Guardian Service