Haussler to ride Worlds only for Australia
German-Australian cyclist will skip World Championships rather than ride for Germany
Heinrich Haussler would rather skip the World Championships in Australia next year than ride for team Germany.
"I am not going to do the Worlds Championships for Germany just to be World Champion. If I want to ride the Worlds to become World Champion then [it will be] definitely in Australian colours," Haussler told Australia's SBS.
He is a dual citizen, with an Australian mother and German father, but has raced his professional career with a German licence and living in Germany. He raced the first four years of his career with German team Gerolsteiner and this year with Switzerland's Cervélo TestTeam. With Cervélo, he had his best season yet, winning a stage at the Tour de France and five other races.
But the World Championships requires national teams and Haussler's licence has required him to represent Germany. He's skipped the Worlds as a professional every year to give himself the chance to eventually race for Australia. Next year's Worlds course suits Haussler and he is ready to make the switch.
The Worlds are "my main goal, especially next year in Australia. The course suits me 100 percent. I know if I have top form, or like I had this year in the Classics, I think I can win there," Haussler continued.
The 2010 Worlds starts in Melbourne and travels to Geelong, 85 kilometres. Once in Geelong, the professional men will ride 11 15.9-kilometre circuits, each covering The Ridge climb (120m), for a total of 259.9 kilometres.
Haussler is currently on vacation in Australia, visiting his parents.
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