Haussler’s Milan-San Remo thrown into jeopardy

Heinrich Haussler is likely to miss Milan-San Remo. The Cervelo TestTeam rider was the runner-up last year but has suffered from a knee injury picked up in the Volta ao Algarve. He pulled out of Paris-Nice earlier in the week and despite staying with the team, has been unable to train properly.

He was on his bike in Nice to watch the final stage of Paris-Nice, having done a short training ride.

“My knee is not going well at all today, I’ve done 15 minutes on the bike and it’s very painful”, he told Cyclingnews. “If I pedal easy, it’s OK but I can’t stand up and I can’t use any big gear. If it was decided today, I would definitely not be able to do Milan-San Remo.”

A final decision will be made on Monday after Haussler visits a clinic in Basel, Switzerland where the Cervélo Test Team work on a regular basis.

“I don’t see how he could start Milan-San Remo”, directeur sportif Philippe Mauduit said. “The doctors will determine whether he needs to rest or to undergo treatment. It’s a pity but we’ll do the race with only one leader, Thor Hushovd. His preparation is going well at Tirreno-Adriatico.”

Haussler and Hushovd came second and third respectively behind Mark Cavendish at Milan-San Remo last year. It’s rumoured that Dutch sprinter Theo Bos might be a late inclusion in the Cervélo line up for the Primavera, which is going to be decided by the management on Monday too.