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Kirsten Wild, 2nd at the women’s Tour of Flanders

Earlier Sunday morning, the ladies began their 131.6km cobbled classic – containing the same final 56 kilometres as the men’s race and set to finish in Meerbeke – on a damp and cold start line. Kirsten Wild finished second after a great team performance in the women’s Tour of Flanders. The German sprinter Teutenberg came through in the last hundred meters and won the race after World Cup leader Marianne Vos’s solo attack was chased down by the Cervélo TestTeam with only two kilometres remaining. “Kristen started to wind things up with 200 meters to go, and I came around her with 50 meters left. She’s fast, so I couldn’t wait too long in case she got a gap.” said Teutenberg. “Today our tactic was to control the race until the final climb Muur-Kapelmuur which we did,” explained Sports Director Manel Lacambra. “Our team was in fifth position in the group. There was a breakaway and four riders went, our girls were waiting for our sprinter, Kristen Wild and we closed fast on these four strong riders. After that we made contact with Marianne Vos, who had a lead of 30 seconds at one point. Our team did all the ...

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Tour of Flanders: Haussler’s best spring!

Ronde van Vlaanderen Heinrich Haussler won the sprint for second place after a great attack in the last kilometer that was marred by a nasty crash on the final straight into Meerbeke. Hushovd wasn’t convinced that his sprinting form was good enough, so with a kilometer to go he told his team mate Heinrich Haussler to attack. “I attacked and with 500 metres to go, my legs were ready to explode. The directeur was yelling in my ear, ‘don’t look back, don’t look back, just pedal!'” said Haussler. The plan worked out well for the Cervélo Test Team, Haussler got away so fast that he gained a good 50 meters and easily took second place. “I am happy. I may not look happy because I am extremely exhausted – I just didn’t have the legs I had two weeks ago. I’m not fresh anymore.” Haussler said. “At least I got second. During the race I didn’t think I would get that far. The crash on the last kilometer involved Thor Hushovd who was taken to hospital to be checked over. Hushovd was disappointed and said “that he would have won the sprint for 3rd place without the crash”. Sports Director ...

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Can Haussler win Tour of Flanders?

In cycling-crazed Belgium, the Tour of Flanders is one of the main races of the year. The entire nation seems to come to a standstill to watch the 258.9km battle from Brugge to Meerbeke (with plenty of beer-drinking along the way). Heinrich Haussler has shown that he has the ability to make the right moves, but does Haussler have the firepower to beat the Belgians in their home race, Ronde van Vlaanderen this Sunday? “The Racing-Kangaroo” was ready to take the questions when Andrew Hood (VeloNews) met him and the rest of the Cervélo Test Team in Belgium. What do you think about racing cobbles in Belgium? “The cobbles mean something to me… It is like an addiction”. “The fans here in Belgium are unbelievable, you don’t see it anywhere else expect at the Tour de France.” What do you think about the course of Tour of Flanders? “Today we did the last 140 kilometres. I saw the two new climbs (Eikenberg and Varent) and the different cobble sections. I know the race well: from the Kwaremont to the finish I have all in my head. The new bit is not really hard, but there are lot of small roads ...

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Haussler, favourite for the Classics!

Heinrich Haussler is now a favourite for the Classics thanks to his early season and near-miss in Milano-Sanremo. He has put his name in lights this season with the rapid-fire attack to win the sprint in stage two of Paris-Nice. He nearly did the same thing one week later in Milano-Sanremo. He shot out at 350 metres to go before Mark Cavendish (Columbia-Highroad) caught him back. Haussler on Tour of Flanders: “My form is still the same. I should be up there. I will hide myself a bit more and ride a bit smarter, he said. Hopefully, there will be more teammates in the end so we can have more options. Thor Hushovd or Andreas Klier can win. We need more numbers, more than Quick Step, Lotto or Rabobank.” Haussler is taken it easy between the races. When we talked with him a few days ago, he indicated his riding as coffee shop runs (obviously a little more on the harder side.) He said that he saves the real energy bursts for the race days. “I want to keep my form through Paris-Roubaix. It should hold on if I don’t get sick. I am not doing any really hard training ...

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Ready for cobbles & climbs!

Thor Hushovd came in 4th, 45 seconds behind Pozzato, Boonen and Iglinskiy at E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (Belgium) on Saturday. Sporting director Jean-Paul van Poppel commented after the race, “We just missed by about 6 seconds to connect after the final climb. Thor wasn’t able to catch the first three but even so it is a good result, he said. “With this, we are very happy going into the next week with Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres, Gent – Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix.” RONDE VAN VLAANDEREN, April 5th Tour of Flanders, held over 264km from Bruges to Ninove-Meerbeke is one of the toughest Classics of the year with the most exciting and knowledgeable spectators you’ll find anywhere. With 16 brutal climbs crammed in to the last 120k, half of them cobbled, with rain, cross winds and riding down tiny narrow roads at 60 km/t in a 150 strong bunch, well it doesn’t get much better. Keep an eye on the Men-in-Black on Sunday: 211 HAMMOND Roger 212 HAUSSLER Heinrich 213 HUSHOVD Thor 214 KLIER Andreas 215 LANCASTER Brett 216 RASCH Gabriel 217 ROLLIN Dominique 218 ROULSTON Hayden

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