Haussler hopeful

Heinrich Haussler, who was born in Australia, is riding his first Tour de France. The 23 year-old from Gerolsteiner told radsport-aktiv that his preparation so far as been great and he went to train in altitude, near St. Moritz "before the Bayern Rundfahrt and after the Dauphiné Libéré."

He just wants to get used to things in his first Grande Boucle and acknowledges that in the "Tour things will be a little different than the Vuelta." Nonetheless, he hopes to have some success in a sprint or a small breakaway.

As for the Tour favourites, he wants to see who actually will start the race, but contends that it'll be the same riders who were doing well in previous years.