Having endured a tough start to the race, Thor Hushovd (BMC) saw encouraging signs in today's third stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné where he sprinted to fourth behind his compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky). The Norwegian had expected to perform better in the first part of the race but is now confident for his return to the Tour de France later this month.

Thor Hushovd had a terrible 2012 season where illness made it almost impossible for him to finish a race and he had to stop racing already in July. This year he has vowed to find back to his former level and that quest is currently underway at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

The former world champion never reached his best in his preferred classics but bounced back with a solid performance in the Tour of California where he finished in the top 10 in no less than 4 stages. He was confident that he form was good and that he would be right in the mix in this week's Criterium du Dauphiné.

Hence, it was a hard pill for him to swallow when he struggled through the first two stages, getting dropped as one of the first riders on the climbs. Usually a rather strong climber, he had hoped to survive the tough terrain and show off his fast finishing speed in the opening stages.

Today's stage was the source for a great encouragement as the Norwegian was able to hold on to the peloton on the day's two climbs and was actually never really in trouble. Afterwards, he finished a solid 4th in the sprint, and he was happy to see some progress that makes him more confident for the future.

"When I look back, I should have been a place or two further up, but I am happy with my performance and also with my sprint," he said.

He plans to return to the Tour de France where he has twice won the green jersey and enjoyed a long and successful stint in the yellow jersey and won two stages in his most recent participation in 2011. This time it will all be to help Cadel Evans fight for the overall win but the Norwegian is confident that he will be selected for the race.

For the moment, he aims at finishing the Criterium du Dauphiné where his only remaining target is the expected sprint in stage 6.

"I know that Stage 6 is good for me, so I hope I can be there," he said. "The rest of the stages will be training for the Tour de France."

The first part of that training will be tomorrow's flat time trial where the Norwegian will decide whether to go full gas or not in the morning, depending on how he feels. Starting at 11.00 you can follow the stage in its entirety on CyclingQuotes.com/live.