Heinrich Haussler abandoned the Tour of Britain in a rather unusual style, by dropping out of the day's break. The Australian had severe knee problems for the first part of the season and now is coming back after surgery and two and a half months without racing.
With an initial climb, lots of attacks went early, to put pressure on race leader Michael Albasini. Haussler had the luck (?) of getting into the eight-man group that turned out to be the winning move. His sports director Jean Paul van Poppel was pleased to see him on the front. "Heinrich, who is just back on the bike after over ten weeks out of competition and surgery, did a great job and looks pretty good."
Initially, Haussler pulled well alongside the other seven. As the race went on, the picture changed. "As soon as we get over 60 km he felt himself getting really tired because he's not used to the competition," Van Poppel said. "He kept going in that group but after 100 km the tank was empty and he decided to stop the race."
His sports director feels with Haussler. "It's a shame but we understand he cannot go to deep as he's still on his way back, and there are still a few races to go." Those races won't include the World Championships, as Haussler is not getting ready in time for such a long event. This certainly will lose him a few extra percents of motivation when fatigue sets in in a race like the Tour of Britain.
Still, he Cervélo TestTeam rider showed his fighting spirit today. He surely will be making better headlines in the races very soon.