Cervélo TestTeam’s Heinrich Haussler was forced to abandon the Tour of California with knee problems yesterday after being involved in a crash just after the stage five start. The incident happened as the road narrowed on the way out of the stage's starting town of Visalia. The crash also saw Stuart O'Grady (Saxo Bank) and Lance Armstrong exit the race, the latter heading to the hospital for stitches.
Haussler has had an unlucky season thus far, and the Tour of California was a continuation of the young German's woes. The American race marked Haussler's return to competition after missing the Spring Classics due to problems with his knee. The talented 26 year old was poised to build on his second place finishes in Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders last year, until a sequence of crashes in stage four of both the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice forced him off the bike.
This was the second time Haussler hit the pavement in the Tour of California. In stage one he went down in the run up to the line, but was able to continue the race.
“I fell twice so far during the Tour of California and now my knee hurts but not at the same place as my previous injury,” Haussler explained.
He followed up his initial crash with a strong performance two days later during stage three. He was one of the key protagonists on the Bonny Doon climb, which confirmed that he was again back to riding at a high level.
The Cervélo rider took a dramatic solo win in the thirteenth stage to Colmar in last year's Tour de France, and is now focused on more success in July. “My form is good and I have to listen to my body, get a few days rest, do some physio and look at the big picture in order to be fully prepared for the Tour de France.”