Haussler Sprints to The Title

IAM Cycling could not have asked for a better start to the 2015 season. Promoted to the level of WorldTour, the Swiss professional team will have a second road title among its ranks.

Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling) won a thrilling Australian national road championships as he out sprinted Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) to claim victory after 183km of racing around Bunninyong in a time of 4:47:24. Haussler lost contact on the final climb up Mt Buninyong with the seven-man break that had formed on lap four of 18, and had been whittled down as the pace lifted in the second half of the race, but regained contact in the final kilometres of the race and despite having "lactic acid coming out of his ears" held off Ewan for his first national title.

After Martin Elmiger won the Swiss national road title in June 2014, it is now Heinrich Haussler (30 years old) who managed to win the jackpot by showing the kind of sprint he can put together at the end of the challenging Australian road championships.

Covering 183 kilometers around the Bunninyong area, the IAM Cycling puncheur came out on top ahead of a strong Australian group including the great young hope Caleb Ewan.

“This is the happiest day of my life and I am not going to begrudge myself the real pleasure I feel.  To have won the national jersey is a bigger victory for me even than the Tour de France stage into Colmar in 2009.  In the final stretch of the race, I just glanced to my right so that Caleb Ewan wouldn’t surprise me.  I was really on my limit and had lactic acid coming out of my ears.  But I was ready to throw my bike on the line and win my first national title.”

Haussler, who is an expecting father, explained how his race unfolded before taking a little rest before preparing to wear his new jersey at the Santos Tour Down Under.

“I came with Roger Kluge and David Tanner before Christmas to start a hard block of training.  And the work paid off.  But this race is very tactical.  We played poker all day.  When I was tailed off the group on that last climb, I still found the resources to chase back onto the lead group.  And then I just stayed alert.  I waited as long as possible because really I was dead.  I had only one bullet left.  And in cases like that, it makes it even sweeter to win.  That’s even more reason for this to feel like the best day of my life.  I could not have hoped for a better start to the season.”

Photo Credits : TDWSport.com - Gruber Images