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Cervelo Test Team rider Heinrich Haussler announced on Wednesday that he was giving up his German citizenship in order to compete as an Australian.

The 26-year-old grew up with dual citizenship in Australia as the son of an Australian mother and a German father. He moved to Germany at the age of 14 and has been riding with a German license.

“It was not an easy decision to give up my German citizenship but I came to a point in my life where I decided to follow my feelings,” he said.

“I had the lucky situation that I was the owner of two passports but I feel more Australian and, therefore, I made the final decision to ride in the future for the country where I grew up.

“It was definitely a hard choice. Germany is still really important to me and I have many friends here.”

The decision means that Haussler will now be able to wear the green and gold in the world road race championships which this year will be held in Australia.

Haussler, who intends to remain based in the German city of Freiburg, is not competing in the Tour de France after a crash with Mark Cavendish in the Tour of Swtizerland last month caused an injured knee to flare up, ruling him out.

(rsn) – Vieles erinnerte an die beiden Siege bei der Tour de Suisse: Marcus Burghard (BMC Racing) war auf der 2. Etappe der Tour de France mit mehreren starken Ausreißerkollegen ....

It was a homecoming of sorts for Alessandro Petacchi with victory in Sunday’s first stage at the 2010 Tour de France.

The veteran Italian hasn’t raced the Tour since 2004 and only returned to a top caliber ProTour team this year with Lampre, following his controversial two-year ban in 2007 for taking the asthma medication salbutamol.

Petacchi avoided three late-stage crashes to sneak through for his first Tour win since he won four stages in 2003.

“To win a stage in the Tour is always good. The last time I won was in 2003. I crashed in 2004 and had to abandon, then I had a bad injury in the Giro,” Petacchi said. “Winning the same now is the same thrill as winning before, though today was very difficult. It was very nervous and it was such a long time since I have raced a Tour. But once I got to the start, I remembered how everything is and I got over the nerves very fast.”

Petacchi was once the dominant sprinter in the pack, even winning stages in all three grand tours in the same year in 2003.

A string of injuries, his ban and struggles with form have since seen younger riders such as Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar eclipse him.

Petacchi abandoned the Giro in the first week with an illness, but came back to win a stage at the Tour de Suisse in June. That victory came in similar conditions, when the favorite Cavendish took out Heinrich Haussler and Tom Boonen in a harrowing finish sprint, leaving Petacchi to sneak through and claim the victory.

Petacchi, known for his grumpy humor, didn’t like suggestions that his win Sunday was somewhat less than deserving.

“I am here to sprint and win, so it is not a surprise that I won. I had good legs and my team delivered me well to the line. Crashing is part of sprinting and I avoided the crashes,” he said. “Even if Cavendish had not crashed, who is to say I would not have won? I think I made a good sprint and would have won anyway.”

Petacchi’s first-place points put him in the green jersey going into stage 2.

He’ll have more chances this week to prove that his comeback victory was as well-deserved as he believes it was.

Buried at the bottom of Saturday’s opening prologue results was the name of Spanish rider Xavier Florencio, the day’s lone non-starter of the 2010 Tour de France.

Cervélo management decided late Friday to kick Florencio off its nine-man Tour de France roster after discovering he was treating saddle sores with a cream that included ephedrine, a substance on the UCI’s banned product list that could trigger a positive test for elevated levels.

Cervélo officials said Florencio violated internal team rules by not clearing the cream with team doctors, who strictly monitor which products riders are taking to assure they are not running afoul of anti-doping rules.

“Our alarm systems worked. The important thing is that the internal rules that we have are established with the agreement of the riders,” said Cervélo team manager Joop Alberda. “If you make the rules, you have to stick to the rules.”

Due to the last-minute nature of the decision, Florencio could not be replaced, meaning that Cervélo began the 2010 Tour one man down.

Florencio later apologized to his teammates and said he did not realize the cream contained ephedrine.

“After the Tour de Suisse, I was training in Andorra and I came down with some hemorrhoids, which were becoming more painful by the day. I went to the pharmacy and they gave me a (cream), which is what everyone in the world uses to treat them,” Florencio said.

“I read the instructions and I didn’t see any warning for athletes. This morning (Friday) before training, I put on the cream for the last time. Later in the afternoon, I told the team doctor about the problem I had and what I was using. The doctor informed me that the cream contained ephedrine, and that they notified the UCI, because it can take two or three days to clear the system, and I could end up giving a positive in case I was tested. The next step, logical, was that I was removed from the team.”

Florencio was a key member of the squad designed to help 2008 Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre at Cervélo, which brings a powerful team loaded with riders to help defending green jersey champion Thor Hushovd in the sprints.

Alberda said respect for Cervélo’s strict anti-doping rules and policies were more important than starting the season’s most important race with one fewer rider.

“It’s sad that it happened one day before the Tour, but that doesn’t change anything. We stick by our rules,” he said. “Now we had to make a choice about staying within the rules, or violating our own rules, and if you do that, then there’s no point in having any rules at all.”

Alberda said the publicity surrounding the incident is already having an impact, but in ways perhaps the team didn’t expect.

He said two potential sponsors approached him during Saturday’s prologue about possibly backing Cervélo.

“This morning, we have two new sponsors who want to join the team because they liked it that we are so strict, that we are transparent and that we communicate it clearly to the rest of the world,” he said.

Demain dans le prologue du Tour de France, un contre-la-montre individuel de 8,9 kilomètres qui sera disputé dans les rues de la ville hollandaise de Rotterdam, Luis León Sánchez portera pour la première fois son maillot de champion d'Espagne du contre-la-monte récemment acquis.

En l'absence d'Alejandro Valverde, Luis León sera le leader de la formation Caisse d'Epargne, un rôle que le coureur espagnol est prêt à assumer.

"Le Tour de France ne ressemble à aucune autre course et être le leader de l'équipe dans une course de cette envergure est bien sûr porteur d'un peu plus de pression que dans n'importe quelle autre épreuve. Néanmoins notamment grâce au fait que je fais partie d'une équipe qui connaît bien le Tour, je sais que je serai très bien entouré et je me sens prêt », a expliqué Luis Leon Sánchez ce matin après avoir été reconnaître le parcours du prologue.

Un parcours qui s'adapte bien aux caractéristiques du coureur de Murcie: "Le grand favori s'appelle Fabian Cancellara mais je crois que je suis capable de bien faire moi aussi et je me battrai de bout en bout pour tenter de réaliser le meilleur temps possible. C'est un parcours très rapide avec beaucoup de virages. Il me convient bien et je suis super motivé.

Le coureur de la Caisse d'Epargne est intéressé par une victoire d'étape mais il n'écarte pas non plus la possibilité de bien se placer au général. "J'ai la chance de connaître ce que représente la joie de remporter une étape sur le Tour et j'aimerais bien sûr que cela se reproduise. Pour l'instant je ne vise aucune étape en particulier. Nous allons d'abord attendre de voir comment se déroulent les premières étapes. Dans un premier temps, le plus important sera d'éviter la chute lors des étapes du nord. Nous regarderons ensuite le livre de route afin d'étudier les étapes qui offrent les meilleures possibilités."

" J'ai de bonnes sensations et jamais encore je n'étais allé au Tour dans pareil état de forme. Entre le Tour de Suisse et les championnats d'Espagne, j'ai enfin récupéré de bonnes sensations. Il est évident que j'aimerais le 25 juillet prochain arriver à Paris dans le top dix, mon intention étant d'être le plus devant possible mais il faut être prudent et nous verrons comment se présente la course au fur et à mesure que passent les jours."

"Mon point faible a toujours été la haute montagne mais cette année j'ai beaucoup travaillé pour améliorer cet aspect. J'ai passé pas mal de temps en Sierra Nevada pour m'entraîner en altitude et je sens que je me suis déjà beaucoup amélioré. Au Tour de Suisse, sans être encore à un grand niveau, je me suis testé et j'ai constaté que je suis sur le bon chemin," a ajouté Luis León qui portera le dossard 161.

Demain dans le prologue du Tour de France, un contre-la-montre individuel de 8,9 kilomètres qui sera disputé dans les rues de la ville hollandaise de Rotterdam, Luis León Sánchez portera pour la première fois son maillot de champion d'Espagne du contre-la-monte récemment acquis.

En l'absence d'Alejandro Valverde, Luis León sera le leader de la formation Caisse d'Epargne, un rôle que le coureur espagnol est prêt à assumer.

"Le Tour de France ne ressemble à aucune autre course et être le leader de l'équipe dans une course de cette envergure est bien sûr porteur d'un peu plus de pression que dans n'importe quelle autre épreuve. Néanmoins notamment grâce au fait que je fais partie d'une équipe qui connaît bien le Tour, je sais que je serai très bien entouré et je me sens prêt », a expliqué Luis Leon Sánchez ce matin après avoir été reconnaître le parcours du prologue.

Un parcours qui s'adapte bien aux caractéristiques du coureur de Murcie: "Le grand favori s'appelle Fabian Cancellara mais je crois que je suis capable de bien faire moi aussi et je me battrai de bout en bout pour tenter de réaliser le meilleur temps possible. C'est un parcours très rapide avec beaucoup de virages. Il me convient bien et je suis super motivé.

Le coureur de la Caisse d'Epargne est intéressé par une victoire d'étape mais il n'écarte pas non plus la possibilité de bien se placer au général. "J'ai la chance de connaître ce que représente la joie de remporter une étape sur le Tour et j'aimerais bien sûr que cela se reproduise. Pour l'instant je ne vise aucune étape en particulier. Nous allons d'abord attendre de voir comment se déroulent les premières étapes. Dans un premier temps, le plus important sera d'éviter la chute lors des étapes du nord. Nous regarderons ensuite le livre de route afin d'étudier les étapes qui offrent les meilleures possibilités."

" J'ai de bonnes sensations et jamais encore je n'étais allé au Tour dans pareil état de forme. Entre le Tour de Suisse et les championnats d'Espagne, j'ai enfin récupéré de bonnes sensations. Il est évident que j'aimerais le 25 juillet prochain arriver à Paris dans le top dix, mon intention étant d'être le plus devant possible mais il faut être prudent et nous verrons comment se présente la course au fur et à mesure que passent les jours."

"Mon point faible a toujours été la haute montagne mais cette année j'ai beaucoup travaillé pour améliorer cet aspect. J'ai passé pas mal de temps en Sierra Nevada pour m'entraîner en altitude et je sens que je me suis déjà beaucoup amélioré. Au Tour de Suisse, sans être encore à un grand niveau, je me suis testé et j'ai constaté que je suis sur le bon chemin," a ajouté Luis León qui portera le dossard 161.

After I crashed at the Tour de Suisse , the team ordered me to take a week off the bike. Although I knew I needed the rest, for some reason when you're forced to do it, it feels like work. Maybe...

(rsn) - Erneuter Rückschlag für Heinrich Haussler. Nach seinem Sturz bei der Tour de Suisse sind die Knieproblemen, die den Cervelo-Profi schon die ganze Saison über plagten, ....

(rsn) - Erneuter Rückschlag für Heinrich Haussler: Nach seinem Sturz bei der Tour de Suisse sind die Knieprobleme, die den Cervélo-Profi schon die ganze Saison über plagten, ....

Nagging knee problems will keep Heinrich Haussler out of the 2010 Tour de France.

Cervélo announced Friday that Haussler, a winner of a stage last year, will undergo surgery to repair knee damage dating back to a crash during the Volta ao Algarve in February. Taking his place will be British rider Daniel Lloyd.

“It is a pity that I cannot compete in the Tour de France this year. I am well aware that for a Tour you must to be 100 percent healthy. Though my season so far has not been under a good star, I will not give up. I hold my head high looking ahead to my next goals. I am young and will get my chance again,” Haussler said. “My focus is now on the recovery process and we will decide later when I can make my comeback. The health has first priority and I want to be 100% fit before I return on the start line.”

The 26-year-old rider has been plagued by knee problems since a crash in the Volta a Algarve this spring. Despite taking time for recovery, knee problems continued after crashes at Paris-Nice and most recently at the Tour de Suisse.

“Heinrich’s knee pain came back during the Tour de Suisse,” said Cervélo team doctor Andreas Goesele. “He did not finish that race in order to have some days off the bike. He felt better and everything seemed to be improving as he prepared for the Tour de France. But in the last few days the pain has come back again more intensely than before and so it was obvious to us, he could not race. Now we will operate and do arthroscopic surgery on him next week and after that he will start rehabilitation. We will then have to wait until after the operation before making any further statements regarding his plans for the remainder of the season.”

The news comes just as Tom Boonen revealed that he will not be able to race the Tour due to a nagging injury, meaning the Tour will be missing two of its biggest stage-hunters that were sure to move to the fore in the first week.