Yellow Jersey Battle Trumped By ‘Racing Kangaroo’
by Justin Davis
COLMAR, France, July 17, 2009 (AFP) – Australian-born German Heinrich Haussler claimed his maiden stage win on the Tour de France Friday as rainy conditions put a dampener on an anticipated battle for the yellow jersey.
Haussler was part of an early breakaway on the 200km stage from Vittel to Colmar in the hilly Vosges region before he went off on his own with two climbs still to negotiate.
After coming over the summit of the category one-rated Col du Platzerwasel in the company of Sylvain Chavanel the Cervelo team rider attacked on the descent to quickly open up a gap on the Frenchman.
Quick Step all-rounder Chavanel battled in vain on the Col du Bannstein, but the gap grew and grew as Haussler’s steady rhythm took him up and over the 2.1km hill and then over the 8.7km long Col du Firstplan.
Although victory was virtually assured Haussler made sure not to risk his chances on a technical descent made even more hazardous by the rain.
Smiling on the way in, Haussler’s grins made way for a deluge of tears as he crossed the finish line to hand his Cervelo team their second stage win on their debut after Thor Hushovd’s victory in Barcelona.
“I don’t really know what to say. This is such a big day for me,” said the rider who, given his antipodean roots, is known as the “Racing Kangaroo”.
He admitted he was surprised at distancing Chavanel so easily.
“I didn’t know what to expect in the mountains and didn’t think I would stay ahead Chavanel like that.
“On the last Col I had to stay concentrated, and I kept telling myself ‘don’t crash’. After that it was just an unbelievable feeling going to the line knowing I was going to win.”
Spaniard Amets Txurruka of the Euskaltel team was second, at just over four minutes behind, while Frenchman Brice Feillu of Agritubel was third at 6:13.
The peloton with all the main favourites, and current yellow jersey wearer Rinaldo Nocentini, arrived 6min 43sec behind.
Norwegian Thor Hushovd finished sixth to claim 15 points and reclaim the sprinters’ green jersey from British rival Mark Cavendish.
The Isle of Man-born rider, the winner of four stages so far, finished
23:44 down and is now second in the points competition on 200, five shy of Hushovd.
“The fight for the green jersey is set to go on, that’s for sure,” said Hushovd.
Nocentini has now spent a week in the race lead and still has a six and eight second lead on Astana’s race favourites Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.
But he admitted that could all change when the race heads back into the mountains on Sunday’s 207.5km 15th stage from Pontarlier to Verbier in Switzerland.
“On paper tomorrow’s stage looks okay for us and we should be able to keep the race lead,” he said.
“But after that it will be difficult. Contador and Armstrong are not far behind me.”
It is on Sunday that Astana may find out the cost of losing their American teammate Levi Leipheimer, an experienced helper in the mountains who pulled out with a fractured wrist on Friday.
In the circumstances, Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel was perhaps glad the rain had put paid to the yellow jersey battle on Friday.
“We thought it would be a complicated day, but nobody attacked. We were expecting attacks from Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans’ team-mates, but nobody came,” he said.
Haussler, born in Australia to a German father and Australian mother, went to Germany as a 15-year-old to pursue his dream of becoming a professional cyclist.
Although earlier this season he finished runner-up in the Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders one-day classics, he rated Friday’s win as the biggest of his career.
“It’s the Tour de France, the biggest race in the world so it means a lot to me, you could see my emotions were going crazy,” said Haussler, who lives and trains near Colmar.
“I worked really hard today, and at the finish I just couldn’t hold the tears back.”
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