Heinrich Haussler on the cobbled classics: "It doesn’t come down to the strongest guy on the day"

One of the most experienced riders in the peloton Heinrich Haussler has talked about his ambitions for this year, and how he reflects on the last season aswell as some periods of his career.

In an interview by CyclingTips, the Australian veteran has talked about the classics season he's had last season, more specifically about Paris-Roubaix where his teammate Sonny Colbrelli won on a mythical day: “I heard it over the radio and almost cried myself. It was an amazing experience I will never forget and I want to create again in the future. It’s not like buying a bunch of guys and expect them to gel. It’s pretty hard to create a bunch of friends.”

“Sprints and Classics have changed completely in the last 15 years. It doesn’t come down to the strongest guy on the day. There is luck involved, there is more tactics, bikes, tire pressure, you name it. I want the younger guys to use their brains too. You don’t necessarily have to be the strongest guy but if you have a good group of guys [working as a team] almost anything is possible," he added.

The 37-year old is one of the most experienced riders in the peloton, he has witnessed the rise and retirement of both Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara, the ever-dominant era of Quick-Step and the rise of ultra talents like Peter Sagan, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Despite all this, he is still capable of performing at the highest level, having finished tenth in last year's Paris-Roubaix.

Some of it may be due to Cyclocross, which he started riding in the last few years and has been able to be a rather frequent in the circuit: “Cyclocross happened by mistake. A friend of mine Sascha Weber did cyclocross when he was younger. He asked to me to join him in a small regional race close to where we live [in Freiburg, southern Germany]. It was straight after the Vuelta that I just finished. I said ‘Nah mate, I am 36, I am not going to do that’."

To wrap it off Haussler has shared one of the dreams he has for this year specifically: “So, one personal goal this year would be to put on an Australian jersey representing Australia in Wollongong. That would be an absolute highlight of my career. "

Heinrich Haussler will once again, if all goes according to plan, race the cobbled classics campaign this season, where he will be riding with Sonny Colbrelli and Matej Mohorič to try and replicate last season's success.