Paris-Roubaix 1981 Bernard "The Bagder" Hinault had the rainbow jersey but somehow fell quite close to the finish. Apparently hitting a dog or just avoided it. After what for Hinault must have been some terrifying moments struggling on his own, he managed to catch up with the five other riders. Hinault was so calm that he actually went to the front of that little group into the velodrome and sprinted for victory from the very front. Nothing less than impressive.
Next year the God of Thunder Thor Hushovd has the rainbow jersey. After finishing the sprint in Geelong he was asked what his next goal was, the journalist probably didn't expected an answer at all in the moment of celebration. Hushovd on the other hand was crystal clear and proclaimed that winning Paris-Roubaix with the rainbow jersey on was next year's goal.
There will as always be a dogfight of dimensions in the race. As a Norwegian I would hope that he or any other Norwegian win, but I will cheer for everyone who enters and finish this brutal race. This race for sure shows the strong riders from the weak, there is no way you can win Paris-Roubaix without being in superb shape, like Fabian Cancellara proved this year.
When I wrote that history might repeat itself, I didn't mean that Hushovd should hit a dog and fall off his bike. There is no reason to make the race more exciting than it already is.
Looking forward to the 10th of April already. Atle Kvålsvoll, Hushovd's personal coach reminded me on twitter that Kvålsvoll has birthday this very day. Hushovd can make this a really memorable day, in many aspects.
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