Cervélo TestTeam's Heinrich Haussler was involved in a car accident on Saturday night near his home in Germany. The 26 year old was fortunate not to sustain any injuries, but both cars were reported to have considerable damage.
The accident occurred as Haussler made his way home after a party in Freiburg on Saturday night. The police took him in for questioning and tests concluded that his blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit.
“I want to apologize to my teammates and the entire Cervélo TestTeam and in particular to our fans and partners,” said the 26-year-old Haussler. “I was extremely disappointed about my early return from the Tour of California because of my knee problems and needed a diversion. That said, there is no excuse for my behaviour. It was irresponsible and unprofessional and I deeply regret my actions.”
Haussler had been racing at the Amgen Tour of California earlier in the week, but abandoned the race following two crashes. He returned home Thursday to have his knee checked at the Crossklinik in Basel as a precautionary measure.
He was forced to miss the Spring Classics due to problems with his knee. After a strong start to the season he looked set to build on his second place finishes in Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders of last year, until a sequence of crashes in stage four of both the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice took him out of competition.
Cervélo TestTeam made it clear in a statement that the did not condone Haussler's behaviour, and that they haves full confidence in the German authorities to take the appropriate action. The team has said they will work with Heinrich to make sure he understands the consequences of his actions, and to ensure he understands the appropriate behaviour required of him in the future.