Heinrich Haussler on the offensive at Gent-Wevelgem

IAM Cycling’s Classics leader has faced a certain amount of mis-chance this season at races such as Het Nieuwsblad, Milan-San Remo and most recently at Friday’s GP E3, but Haussler refuses to bow to setbacks, preferring to lay everything on the line for a chance at a great success. His determination showed today when with more than 50 kilometers to go, he initiated what turned out to be the deciding move of the race, with only 12 men able to follow his wheel. To make sure the move stuck, the powerful 29 year old IAM Cycling rider tried his luck more than once in the Gent-Wevelgem, which had 47 kilometers cut from its parcours due to inclement weather including snow, freezing temperatures and gale-force winds. Even if the day’s top honors went to Slovak phenomenon Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Haussler’s 4th place is his best result this season, and a good sign for the coming races which represent the meat of the cobbled classics. It also marks Haussler’s sixth top 10 result since February. Clearly, his form is where it should be.
When asked to evaluate his day’s efforts, Heinrich Haussler expressed a certain satisfaction.
“I am happy with my result. I really took the start, in spite of the extreme conditions, to put in the sort of performance of which I know I am capable. I left everything on the road, and committed 100% to the breakaway. At the end, there were members of the break who hadn’t committed so much to its success, and so I didn’t have the sort of reserves I needed to win the sprint for second. But my shape bodes well for the coming classics.” For his part, Eddy Seigneur, IAM Cycling’s Directeur Sportif, was pleased with his protégé’s performance on the World Tour stage.
“Now we are just a week away from the Tour of Flanders, and Heinrich has shown that he not only has the desire, but the legs too. This 4th place will give Haussler confidence since only Sagan was a notch above his form. The rest of the team also put in good work in difficult conditions, and I am particularly pleased with how much Sébastien Hinault was able to be there for Heinrich.”