Heinrich Haussler will be forced to miss his new team’s official presentation later this week as he continues to suffer from a knee injury after a crash in November.
Haussler will be forced to undergo surgery on his knee on Monday in order to treat the problem but Bahrain-Merida expect him to be back to training fairly quickly.
"After a bike crash in November, the rider had suffered a cartilage injury and a ligament torsion of the left knee. After many conservative therapies, the last MRI of control shows a hypertrophic synovial plica inside the knee," explained team doctor Carlo Guardascione.
"So today afternoon, in the Sanatorium Clinic of Schruns in Austria, the professor Schenk will do an Arthroscopic surgery to treat the problem. The recovery physiotherapy will start tomorrow and the rider will not be able to travel to Bahrain in [the] next days."
WM3 allows fans to vote for 2017 bike design
Marianne Vos’ WM3 Pro Cycling team are offering fans an opportunity to select the design of their new Ridleys for the 2017 season. Those that vote can win one of three prizes, a replica Ridley Liz SL, with the winning design on it, a VIP Package for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or a day next to Directeur Sportif Jeroen Blijevens in the team car.
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Weekly winners will also be chosen and are in with the opportunity to win a signed WM3 Pro Cycling jersey.
Ridley and WM3 Pro Cycling confirmed a five-year deal last month, replacing Giant’s women’s brand Liv as the supplier. The company already sponsors the Lotto-Soudal men’s and women’s squads.
Below is one of the four designs you can vote on, click here for the other three.
Mario Costa announces retirement
After two-years racing at WorldTour team Lampre-Merida along side brother Rui, Mario Costa has announced his retirement from the sport via his Facebook page. The 31-year-old started his career in 2008 with Continental outfit Benfica before moving onto Barbot-Siper, and OFM - Quinta da Lixa before joining the Italian WorldTour squad.
While Costa never won a race as a professional on the road, he triumphed at the 2015 Portuguese national 'cross titles and was the 2003 junior road race champion. With Lampre-Merida, Costa made his grand tour debut at the Vuelta a España this year and also rode two monuments, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Roubaix. His final race was the Tour of Hainan, where he was 11th overall.
Costa will turn his attention to a new career in the fields of osteopathy and acupuncture.
