The current road world champion was active throughout the event; whether it was leading out teammate Tyler Farrar for the sprint win or during the lumpy final kilometres of stage four to Chieti, Hushovd showed great form and will be pivotal to Garmin-Cervélo's chances of success in La Primavera.
"I am very pleased... It went surprisingly well from day two, while at the end the stage were a little tougher. But all in all, this was a very good race," Hushovd told TV2 Sport of his Tirreno-Adriatico experience.
"My condition is certainly on track, but I knew my form was good, too," he continued. "Working with Farrar went very well and it was nice to help him."
Farrar and another Garmin-Cervélo teammate, Heinrich Haussler, are also coming into great form ahead of the season's first Monument on Saturday and Hushovd admitted that the three riders will have free rein to play their own cards for the win.
"Tyler, Heinrich [Haussler] and I get free roles on Saturday, so we'll see who's still there at the end. The last hill before the finish will determine it," he said.
"I will try to push hard to be in the finale. I'll have to be attacking in the hills and I might hang me on. I wish nevertheless to be at the front, so we'll see how it goes," he added.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
