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Andrew Hood: A conversation with stage winner Heinrich Haussler

Published: Jul. 17, 2009
2009 TdF, stage 13: Haussler in the break with Chavanel and Rigoberto Uran.
2009 TdF, stage 13: Haussler in the break with Chavanel and Rigoberto Uran.
Photo: Graham Watson

Heinrich Haussler rode the cold and rain all the way to Colmar to claim his first Tour stage victory of his career on Friday.

The 25-year-old Cervélo TestTeam rider delivered his squad’s second stage win of this Tour and confirmed his status as one of the rising stars of the sport.

Second at Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders this spring, Haussler proved that he’s a force to reckon with any time of year.

Here’s what he had to say during the post-stage press conference Friday:

How important is this victory for you?

It really means something to me, that’s why the emotions were going crazy at the finish line. I only live 30-40km from here, I train in this area and I love this kind of weather. It reminds me of the classics. I’ve done some of my best races in the rain. It was really important for me to be in the group because I knew that one would go away.

What were your emotions at the finish line?

At the beginning, I was happy to be in the break, but the group wasn’t working very good. We only had 45 seconds on the pack, so I attacked a few times to split things up to make it a smaller group. I was later scared of (Sylvain) Chavanel, because he’s such a good climber. It was so cold up on the top and it was raining so hard, I knew that as the day goes on, I will stay the same and the others will get weaker. That was the key to success today.

Was this the most important victory of your career?

It is. It’s the Tour de France, it’s the biggest race in the world. It means a lot to me. You could see on the finish line, the emotions were going crazy, it meant so much to me. I really did try hard today, that’s why I couldn’t hold the tears back.

Can you tell us more about your decision to switch your racing license from Germany and race for Australia next year?

It’s true. My dad is German and my mom is Australian. I was born in Australia. I moved to Germany when I was 14 to turn pro. That was my dream to turn pro. Back then, cycling in Australia wasn’t so big and it was here in Europe. I was lucky enough that I had a German passport, so I could live and go to school in Germany. Now, as I am starting to get older, I feel more Australian. That’s why I made the decision. It’s already been in the back of my head the past few years. When I was with Gerolsteiner, it was a German team, they wanted me to stay German, because it was a German team and they wanted German riders. Now that I am with Cervélo, it doesn’t really matter if I am Australian or German. Next year I want to ride for Australia.

Can this win be celebrated as an Australian win or a German win?

Yes, I’d say so (Australian win). I’m not saying that I am pure Australian, I just want to change back because I feel more Australian. When I stop cycling, I want to go back to Australia and live there. I like it there, I grew up there, I went to school there, I still have all my family and friends there. I still like living in German, my dad is German, I speak German and I have a German passport, but I just feel more Australian, that’s why next year I’d like to ride for Australia.

Did you decide it was a good stage for you?

I knew that there was going to be a stage here in Colmar. I only live 30km away (in Germany), so this is my training area. It was a stage that I looked at. At the beginning of the year, my form was really good. I was climbing really good, I knew that I could win this stage or have a go at it. Leading up to the Tour, the team had other goals, with Thor in green and Carlos in GC with the defending champion. I didn’t really expect to get a chance to have a go at this stage. Yesterday, we missed the group and it was pretty bad for us. Today we didn’t want to miss the group, so I had a chance to go. It wasn’t easy to get into the break, but today I had luck. The first attack went and straight up I was in the group. I know this area and it was really good to get the win here.

What was going through your mind when you gapped Chavanel on the descent?

During the race, I knew Chavanel was really strong, because I’ve raced against him all season in the classics and Paris-Nice. I have a lot of respect for him; I wasn’t scared, but I knew he was really strong. I knew it was so cold and it was raining, I knew he would get weaker toward the end. This is my type of weather. I just love it. I know this sounds weird, because I grew up in Australia, but I just hate racing in the heat. I hate riding in 30-degree heat. My legs don’t work properly. I don’t know if Chavanel was playing with me, because he wasn’t coming through properly in the turns. My sport director told me that the peloton was coming from behind. Linus Gerdemann attacked out of the pack, we only had three minutes with 50km to go. He told me to go. I already waited two times for Chavanel on the downhill. He said you cannot afford to wait because the peloton is going to catch you. So I just went full-gas to the end.

You had a great spring, but Milan-San Remo was a narrow loss, does that haunt you?

Towards the end, in the last 60km, when it was just me and Chavanel, I was thinking, we’re at the Tour de France, I don’t want to be second like I was at San Remo. That’s why I didn’t want to risk anything. Maybe it would have been better to have waited for him, because two riders is better. I just didn’t want to get second again like I did at San Remo and Tour of Flanders. I could see he was a bit weaker, that’s why I just went.

When you saw the conditions like it was Belgian classics weather, did that excite you?

It’s hard to get into a good group at the Tour de France. People were just attacking like crazy in the first 80-90 kilometers yesterday, and we were in the groups, but when the group went, we just weren’t in that group. So today we had to be in the group. Looking at the weather, I knew it would be cold and rainy. I was lucky enough, the first attack, I was on the wheel of Moreau, the group went straight away in the first attack, that was pretty lucky. When I saw the weather forecast, I knew it was a day for me. If it was sunny today and 30 degrees, to be honest, I don’t think I would have won.

What does winning at the Tour mean to you?

I had some great results in the spring classics, the best form of my life. It’s really nice to win here, since I’ve come back from the classics, I’ve been able to prove I can still perform and I can win big races, to show that it wasn’t just luck. People would think it was just luck. It’s nice to prove that I am also going to be around for the next races. It does mean a lot to show that I can build up my form to win a race like this.