Thor Hushovd's Crédit Agricole Look 585 Paris-Roubaix

	Photo ©: Kirsten Robbins

A conservative approach for the Norwegian sprinter

By James Huang

There's no tapered-and-oversized trickery here…

…as a standard 1 1/8" steerer and head tube

Even though there's no carbon in the wheels

According to team mechanic Pascal Ridel

Look still prefers tube-and-lug technology

The bottom bracket area

Thor Hushovd, Crédit Agricole's Norwegian strongman, has proven himself to be a potent one-day rider with prologue wins at both the Tour de France and Paris-Nice, stage wins at Le Grand Boucle and other multi-day events, and even a win at Gent-Wevelgem in 2006. Unfortunately, though, Hushovd had a disappointing showing at this year's Paris-Roubaix: the 'Viking' abandoned the race at the first feed zone after reportedly suffering a nasty crash early on.

The morning of the start brought surprisingly pleasant conditions such that specially dedicated mud machines weren't entirely necessary. Even so, Hushovd set off from Compiègne aboard a Look 585 Origin instead of his usual 595. According to head mechanic Pascal Ridel, the swap wasn't made for any durability or strength reasons; it was strictly a question of comfort. "It's a little smoother than the 595," he said.

Ridel added that Hushovd's 585 Origin was no one-off and a quick inspection seemed to support that assertion. There were no additional tire clearances at either end nor any obvious geometry adjustments (although any extra fiber plies for added stiffness would have been well camouflaged). Likewise, most of the associated equipment bore little change from his standard race setup which included Shimano Dura-Ace controls, cranks, derailleurs, cassette and chain, plus his team-issued Look KéO Carbon pedals.

Even so, the wheels, tires and gearing displayed the typical Paris-Roubaix trademarks. Hushovd swapped his usual deep-section carbon tubulars for more conventional wheels built with standard Dura-Ace hubs, straight-gauge stainless steel spokes and brass nipples laced in a traditional three-cross pattern to unmarked aluminum box-section tubular rims which Ridel said were now in their fifth year of service. The corresponding Continental Pro Limited Competition ProTection tubulars were similarly conservative what with their wider 25mm casing and extra sidewall reinforcement.

Gearing was decidedly appropriate for the flat course profile: an aggressive 11-23T cluster out back matched with 53/46T chainrings. According to Ridel, the tight chainring sizing also eliminated any need to run a chain watcher.

The latter may come as a bit of a surprise but we have little reason to question the seasoned wrench. Ridel has been with the team through its various incarnations for roughly 20 years and the 2008 Paris-Roubaix astoundingly marked his fifteenth running of the 'Hell of the North.' As expected, this invaluable experience played out in the team's support strategy for the day.

Ridel estimated the day before the start that team mechanics would be placed at no fewer than 10-12 places along the course with bikes and/or wheels to ensure that their leader wasn't caught out if a team car or neutral support vehicle was too far away to help. In total, Hushovd was prepared with five complete bikes, including one backup that was a complete carbon copy of his primary machine.

Sadly, that plan ended up being somewhat for naught after Hushovd abandoned; Crédit Agricole's highest placed rider was Jimmy Engoulvent in 38th place, 11'46" down from Tom Boonen (Quick Step). Even so, Hushovd will be back on track soon enough and the season has only just begun.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com

• Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) departed from the start of Paris-Roubaix aboard a Look 585 Origin.
• The team may have had special machines waiting , but the pleasingly dry conditions meant that a supposedly standard Look 585 was enough to do the trick.
• There's no tapered-and-oversized trickery here…
• …as a standard 1 1/8" steerer and head tube grace the front end of Hushovd's Look 585.
• Even though there's no carbon in the wheels , there's still plenty of it in the full-carbon frame and HSC5 SL fork.
• According to team mechanic Pascal Ridel , the Look 585 provides Hushovd and other Crédit Agricole riders with a slightly softer ride than their usual Look 595.
• Look still prefers tube-and-lug technology instead of monocoque or tube-to-tube construction methods.
• The bottom bracket area of Hushovd's Look 585 looks rather small in comparison to some other carbon models out there but the stiffness is apparently still good enough to handle the output of the big Norwegian sprinter.
• Hushovd took the conservative approach with traditional spoked wheels and aluminum box-section tubular rims.
• Hushovd's wheels were even more conservative than most as they were built with straight gauge spokes, not butted ones.
• The Continental Pro Limited Competition ProTection tubulars wore a beefy 25mm profile and additional reinforcement on the sidewalls.
• Hushovd prefers a deep traditional drop instead of more anatomic bends.
• Hushovd's bike is tagged with his name as usual but not many riders can also say that they have their own signature line of components, too.
• More carbon can be found in the Look Ergopost 2 Ti seatpost which Hushovd tops with a Selle Italia Flite Team Edition saddle.
• Shimano's ubiquitous Dura-Ace STI Dual Control levers take care of business up front.
• A standard Dura-Ace rear derailleur moves the chain across the tight ratio cassette.
• Hushovd's bike didn't have much clearance back here…
• …nor up here although the dry conditions didn't require much.
• Hushovd runs relatively long 175mm Dura-Ace cranks.
• The flat Paris-Roubaix parcours found most riders, Hushovd included, running 46T inner chainrings.
• One of the only departures from the Shimano Dura-Ace group is Hushovd's Look KéO Carbon pedals.
• Tacx Tao cages look like they're a solid loop of aluminum but they actually spring open in the middle.
• A wireless Shimano Flight Deck computer offers up plenty of information.
• Crédit Agricole head mechanic Pascal Ridel has been with the team for two decades and has nearly as many Paris-Roubaix races under his belt.

Full specification

Frame: Look 585 Origin
Size: Size L
Fork: Look HSC5 SL

Critical measurements
Rider's height: 1.83m (6' 0") ; Weight: 81kg (179lb)
Seat tube length, c-c: 512mm
Seat tube length, c-t: 542mm
Top tube length: 565mm
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 773mm
Saddle nose tip to C of bars: 602mm
C of front hub to top of bars: 585mm

Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-7800
Levers: Shimano Dura-Ace STI Dual Control, ST-7800
Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace FD-7800 w/braze-on adapter
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace RD-7800-SS
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-7800, 11-23T
Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7801
Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace FC-7800, 175mm, 53/46T
Bottom bracket: Shimano Dura-Ace SM-FC7800

Rims: Alloy box section tubular
Front hub: Shimano Dura-Ace HB-7800, 32h
Rear hub: Shimano Dura-Ace FH-7850, 32h
Spokes: Hoshi stainless steel, 14g w/brass nipples
Tyres: Continental Pro Limited Competition ProTection tubular, 25mm

Bars: PRO Vibe 7S Round Thor Hushovd Star Series, 44cm (c-c)
Stem: PRO Vibe 7S OS Alloy Thor Hushovd Star Series, 13cm x -6°
Headset: FSA Orbit integrated
Tape/grip: Bike Ribbon cork, double wrapped

Pedals: Look KéO Carbon
Seat post: Look Ergopost 2 Ti
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite Team Edition
Bottle cages: Tacx Tao
Computer: Shimano Flight Deck wireless

Total bike weight: 7.92kg (17.46lb)