The new Australian is starting slow, but still hopes to "do a few beautiful races before the year is over."
Following a breakout 2009 success, expectations were sky high for Cervelo TestTeam's Heinrich Haussler in 2010. After a strong start at the Tour of Qatar at the beginning of February, Haussler suffered what would end up being the demise of his 2010 at the Volta ao Algarve in the middle of the second month of the year. The consequences of the crash weren't immediately apparent - in fact, Haussler finished a fantastic 2nd place at the Belgian opener, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad just a week later. After that though, it was all downhill. Haussler had to take a pass on his beloved Northern Classics, and wasn't able to return to racing until June.
His comeback in June started off in fine fashion with a 3rd place at the GP Kanton Aargau. A week later, a stage victory on the second day of the Tour de Suisse showed that it wasn't going to be very long before the Aussie/German was back to 100% form. Unfortunately, luck wasn't with Haussler, and a controversial crash two days later, caused by Mark Cavendish, took the 2009 Tour de France stage winner right back out of competition.
This time, the bothersome knee was addressed fully. Haussler, who recently gave up his German citizenship to be able to race for Australia, underwent surgery on his knee.
Three weeks on from the surgery, and the newly minted Australian is back on his bike and slowly making progress in the hopes of salvaging something out of what can only be described as a difficult year.
Writing on his website, the 26 year old confesses that he's ecstatic to be back on the bike.
"A little more than three weeks have passed since my small operation at the clinic in Basel, and I can finally report on my first rides back on my bike. Oh, it is a great feeling. Naturally, the rides aren't long. Right now, I'm not in the saddle for more than an hour, but it feels unbelievably good and motivates me for the upcoming days and my continuing rehabilitation."
The slow restart to his season will continue for a little while longer, but the real training is right around the corner.
"I think I'll continue over the next few days at a low intensity and focus my energy mainly on my physical therapy. After that, I'm planning on a training camp at altitude and hope that I can still do a few beautiful races before the year is over."
For a rider that has been hounded by the specter of bad luck all season, it seems fitting that the rider who lives in Freiburg, Germany asks his readers to "cross [their] fingers" in hopes that everything goes smoothly as he moves forward.