Tour of Qatar – stage 2 – Rik Verbrugghe «Heinrich Haussler is in good condition»

The second stage of the Tour of Qatar certainly took a hammer to the riders.  Even if Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won a sprint among 15 riders, which included Heinrich Haussler in 6^th place, the rest of the Swiss squad struggled along with many other riders before reaching Al Khor Corniche.  The wind, which already made a big difference to the first stage, was again ever-present.  Today the incredible tail wind saw the pack racing at an average speed of 54 km/h in the first two hours, and then continued to blow up the peloton into multiple echelons.

The manager sportif Rik Verbrugghe, who is present along with Eddy Seigneur, the directeur sportif for IAM Cycling, was not bored for a second before reaching the finish line nearly an hour faster than the most optimistic schedule. 

“The average speed of the stage (50.638km/h) is enough to give you an idea of just how it felt in the bunch.  They rode à bloc from the first kilometer, and gaps with echelons formed from the outset.  Heinrich Haussler found the right group immediately, but almost all the others were in the second group.  After regrouping, the battle flared up in the last fifty kilometers.  And at that point, Heino was accompanied by Roger Kluge.  To be certain to remain in the front group, you had to stay within the first 15 or 20 riders, because the moment you are ejected from the line, you’ll almost certainly never get back onto terms.”

In Qatar to observe his riders, Rik Verbrugghe finds himself satisfied after their first two days racing. 

“Heinrich Haussler is in good condition.  He has come very close to getting at least a podium in these last two stages.  And there is still hope that we can move up the overall standings by taking some bonus seconds in the coming stages.  He certainly won’t lose too much time to his rivals in the time trial on Tuesday.  I am also happy with the work the other riders have been doing.  I am looking at a good team and we are reassured that we can perform in the classics, even if we don’t have Sylvain Chavanel here with us.  Qatar is the perfect event to get used to working closely together, since that will be so important in the coming races.”