Milan-San Remo – A magnificent 7th place for Heinrich Haussler –

THE QUOTE

“I am very, very happy,” Heinrich Haussler declared shortly after having secured a terrific 7th place in the 107th edition of Milan-San Remo. “I really received unconditional support from the team in this nervous final that was marked by many crashes. I am very grateful to Vicente Reynes who used his vast experience to place me in the right position at the right time. It would have been hard to do better under these conditions. This top-10 place will remain an excellent memory for me, and above all will give me the sort of confidence I need for the rest of the classics.”

THE EXPLANATION

The 32 year old Australian who is the dad of twins found himself back on the center stage after having passed two subdued seasons. “I have matured and focused on my work all winter. I really worked to clear my mind of all those disappointments of the past years. Today, I feel my efforts and sacrifices have been rewarded. I don’t intend to stop here, since I am always thinking about the coming races.”

THE ANALYSIS

“We had two objectives this morning before the departure: to put one of our riders in the breakaway and to finish in the top-10,” Mario Chiesa, IAM Cycling directeur sportif explained after the race. “Roger Kluge, although suffering from a fever, found the strength to join the right escape group, and managed to stay off the front until the Cipressa. And then to top it all off, we had Heinrich Haussler grabbing himself a nice 7th place. Though we can say with a certain amount of satisfaction that we accomplished our mission today, we were of course dreaming of the victory as well.”

THE ANIMATOR

Roger Kluge sacrificed himself for the team and has shown incredible strength of character. Still suffering from flu-like symptoms before the start, the silver medalist in the omnium on the track in the recent world championships, spent more than 260 kilometers at the front of the race along with 10 other riders. The maximum time advantage that the escapees enjoyed was over eleven minuets.

THE FACT OF THE DAY

Due to a landslide overtaking part of the official course in Arenzano, the organizers were forced to amend the route which extended the race by four kilometers and took the riders along the highway between Genoa Volpi and Arenzano.

Pictures – BettiniPhoto2016