Haussler wins in Men Tou Gou

Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) won the first road stage of the Tour of Beijing, beating Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Theo Bos (Rabobank) to the line. The Australian took what was a chaotic but exciting sprint over the 137km stage from the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium to Men Tou Gou.

Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) deployed his team to the front earlier in the stage and retained his overall lead.

The win marks Haussler’s first win since the points competition of Paris-Nice in March but was the first time he crossed the line first since stage 3 of the Tour of Qatar. Without a leadout man, the Australian was forced to rely on his wits and sheltered behind Sky’s Davide Appollonio, who found himself at the front with 400 meters to go. Haussler kicked with under 200 to go and held off Galimzyanov in a photo finish.

“It was basically flat today but it was ridden at a fast speed and was really hectic at the finish,” a delighted Haussler said after a victory of millimetres over Denis Galimzyanov (Kathusha) and five time world track champion Theo Bos of Rabobank.

“The end was so stressful. There were lots of teams trying to get their sprinters there but fortunately for me, we had Cam (Meyer) and Jack (Bobridge) up the front today to bring us up and then I managed to time it perfectly.”

Boss was left empty handed. The Dutchman was perhaps the strongest rider in the sprint but started too far back and despite cutting through the field he ran out of road and had to settle for third.

“This season has been pretty much up and down. It started okay when I won a couple of stages in the Tour of Qatar but since then just a few podium places. Nothing special until today,” Haussler said.

“The Vuelta didn’t go so well for me but I got through it and then the worlds, which has put a bit of racing into me. There are lots of good sprinters here so it’s important and means a lot to win today.”

The day had been marked by a typical early break with Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Dmitriy Muravyev (Team RadioShack), Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team), and Jiang Kun (Chinese National Team). The group had a lead of 2:48 after 40 kilometres of racing but work from HTC, and then a long stint from Garmin put paid to their efforts.

The break lasted 110 kilometers and Kun was rewarded for his efforts, not only with victory in the three intermediate sprints and climber points but also with the jersey for the stage’s most aggressive rider. Alex Dowsett (Sky) remains in the white jersey.

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