Heinrich Haussler (born 25 February 1984) is an Australian former road racing cyclist of German heritage, who competed as a professional from 2004 to April 2023. He won 2 stages in Grand Tours during his career, one at the 2005 Vuelta a España and another at the 2009 Tour de France. He was also a good Classics specialist, registering top results in notable

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

races, and was the 2015 Australian national road race champion. He was the winner of the 2022 UAE Al Salam championship.

Biography

Early life

Haussler was born to a German father and Australian mother and raised in the town of Inverell, New South Wales, Australia, before leaving for Germany in 1998 at age 14 to pursue a dream of being a professional cyclist.

Professional career

Haussler turned professional in 2005 and shot to prominence with a stage win in the 2005 Vuelta a España. Haussler took out five wins in 2006 and has had strong classics campaigns since then. He looked set to be a rider of the future in the classics, in 2009 coming in second in both the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

and

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

, narrowly beaten in the latter by

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

in a photo-finish. He also finished a strong 7th in the 2009 edition of

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

. Haussler's biggest victory so far was the win of Stage 13 in 2009

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

. Haussler lived in

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

starting in 1998, and in 2009 in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. A dual Australian/German national, Haussler originally raced under a German license. However, in a 2008 interview on ''CyclingNews.com'', he suggested that he would no longer race for Germany as he wished to compete for Australia in the 2010

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

in Melbourne. When asked what he would do if chosen to race for Germany in the

2008 UCI Road World Championships The 2008 UCI Road World Championships took place in Varese, Italy, between September 23 and September 28, 2008. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23. Qualification Participating nations Cyclists fro ...

or at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

he stated, "I wouldn't take it. If you start for a country at the worlds there is a three-year ban before you can ride for another." The UCI, however, insisted that if Haussler wanted to ride for Australia he would have to give up his German citizenship, which the cyclist said in a November 2009 interview "is not open for debate at the moment". In July 2010, the Cervélo Test Team announced that Haussler would indeed give up his German citizenship and will ride for Australia in the future. However, a nagging knee injury forced Haussler out of what would have been his international cycling debut for his birth country at the 2010 World Championships. On 26 August 2010, Haussler's employer, Cervélo Test Team, confirmed rumours that it would cease to exist after the end of the current season. On 1 September 2010, it was announced he would be joining the for 2011. In the 2012 Tour of California, Haussler was denied victory on the four first stages of the race by

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak former professional cyclist who competed in road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-c ...

of the squad, who beat him to the line each time. He would have to settle for second on every one of those stages. Haussler left at the end of the 2012 season, and joined the new team for the 2013 season. In 2015 he won the Australian National Road Race Championships for the first time in his career. He also began competing in

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

in 2019, and competed in the 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.

Major results

;2002 : 1st MaillotAllemania

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, German National Junior Road Championships ;2005 : 1st Stage 19

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

: 3rd Overall Sachsen Tour : 7th Overall

Niedersachsen Rundfahrt The Internationale Niedersachsen–Rundfahrt is a stage race, multi-stage road bicycle racing, road bicycle race held in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. ...

: 7th

Züri-Metzgete Züri-Metzgete (Zürich German; ; ) was a European Classic cycle races, Classic cycle race held annually in Zürich, Switzerland, and continued as a non-professional mass participation event from 2007 until 2014. It was a race with a long history ...

;2006 :

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia () is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's fina ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 1 & 5 : Circuit Franco-Belge ::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 1st Stage 3

Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt The International Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt was a stage race, multi-stage road bicycle racing, road bicycle race held in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. In the years from 1966 to 2007, it was considered one of the biggest sporting events in Rhine ...

: 3rd Trofeo Mallorca : 6th Clásica de Almería ;2007 : 1st Stage 1 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 4th Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 10th Rund um den Henninger Turm ;2008 : 1st Stage 1 Bayern Rundfahrt : 9th

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

;2009 : 1st GP Triberg-Schwarzwald :

::1st Stage 13 :: Jersey red number

Combativity award Stage 13 : Volta ao Algarve ::1st Stages 1 & 5 : 1st Stage 2

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

: 2nd Overall Tour of Qatar ::1st Jersey white

Sprints classification ::1st Jersey blue

Young rider classification : 2nd

: 2nd

: 2nd Neuseen Classics : 3rd

Grand Prix of Aargau Canton Grand Prix of Aargau Canton () is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of Gippingen, which belongs to the municipa ...

: 4th Dwars door Vlaanderen : 4th Sparkassen Giro Bochum : 6th Overall Tour du Poitou-Charentes ::1st Stage 5 : 6th

: 8th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad ;2010 : 1st Stage 2 Tour de Suisse : 2nd Omloop Het Nieuwsblad : 3rd

: 9th Overall Tour of Qatar ::1st Jersey white

Sprints classification ;2011 : 1st Stage 2 Tour of Beijing : 1st Jersey green

Points classification

: 2nd Overall Tour of Qatar ::1st Jersey white

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 7th

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 ki ...

;2012 : 3rd GP Ouest–France : 4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad : 7th Vattenfall Cyclassics ;2013 : 1st Stage 5 Bayern Rundfahrt : 4th

: 4th

Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...

: 6th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

;2014 : 1st Stage 1 Bayern Rundfahrt : 3rd

Grand Prix d'Isbergues Grand Prix d'Isbergues is a professional cycle road race held in Isbergues, Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which ...

: 5th

;2015 : 1st MaillotAustralia

Road race, Australian National Road Championships : 5th Down Under Classic : 7th

: 8th Overall Tour of Qatar : 9th

: 10th Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race ;2016 : 6th

: 7th

;2019 : 10th Dwars door Vlaanderen ;2020 : 5th Overall

Saudi Tour The AlUla Tour, formerly known as the Saudi Tour and the Tour of Saudi Arabia, is an annual professional road bicycle racing race stage, stage race first held in Saudi Arabia in 1999. It has been held intermittently since its creation, and in 202 ...

;2021 : 4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad : 10th

;2022 : 10th Classic Brugge–De Panne

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Classics & Monuments results timeline

References

External links

*
Palmares on Cycling Base (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haussler, Heinrich 1984 births Living people Australian people of German descent German male cyclists German Tour de France stage winners German Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists from New South Wales Australian male cyclists Tour de Suisse stage winners People from Inverell Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland 21st-century German sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen