Haussler sprints to win in Men Tou Gou
Tony Martin predictably retained the lead overall but it was Garmin Cervelo's Heinrich Haussler's day to shine on stage two of the 2011 Tour of Beijing.
The Australian prevailed in a desperately tight sprint finish into Men Tou Gou but only after the peloton had ridden at pace to reel in a brave four man break that stayed away for nearly 110 kilometres.
Just as it was expected that Martin would retain the Tour's red jersey after his 17 second domination of yesterday's opening time trial stage, today was a day for the sprinters.
"It was basically flat today but it was ridden at a fast speed and was really hectic at the finish," a delighted Haussler said after a victory of millimetres over Denis Galimzyanov (Kathusha) and five time world track champion Theo Bos of Rabobank.
"The end was so stressful. There were lots of teams trying to get their sprinters there but fortunately for me, we had Cam (Meyer) and Jack (Bobridge) up the front today to bring us up and then I managed to time it perfectly."
It was a victory that obviously came at the right time for the 27-year-old, who this year has ridden as an Australian (his nationality at birth) after competing on a German licence since he was 14. For Haussler, it also followed a year of injury in 2010, which eventually required surgery on his knee.
"This season has been pretty much up and down. It started okay when I won a couple of stages in the Tour of Qatar but since then just a few podium places. Nothing special until today," Haussler said.
"The Vuelta didn't go so well for me but I got through it and then the worlds, which has put a bit of racing into me. There are lots of good sprinters here so it's important and means a lot to win today."
In keeping with the respectful nature being displayed by so many during this inaugural event, Haussler had kind words to say about both countries in his life.
"The German system made be the rider I am today. I wouldn't be here, probably, without that. But my heart is as an Australian," he said.
The day was also proved to be one on which the fledgling Chinese road cycling program could make its mark -- with its most promising rider, Jiang Kun, a member of the break group. The 21- year-old was rewarded for his efforts not only with victory in the three intermediate sprints and climber points but also with the jersey for the stage's most aggressive rider.
It was a fine reward for the hard work in training he put in whilst training at the UCI's World Cycling Centre in Switzerland last month.
Jiang was not the only breakaway to share in the spoils, with Vacansoleil's Thomas De Gendt maximising his points collection on the climbs to open up a nine point lead in the King of the Mountains classification, ahead of the day's two other escapees, Dmitriy Muravyev (Radioshack) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel Esukadi).
In fact it was a day of many winners - not the least of which was the first road stage of a UCI WorldTour race in Asia. The roadside was lined with enthusiastic spectators for much of the 137km journey from the Olympic Stadium to the hinterland ecological and service centre of Men Tou Gou, a city of 270,000.
Against the spectacular backdrop of the Xi Mountains, the fans, many of them wearing co-ordinated blue, green and yellow rugby-style tops, chanted and beat out their support for the peloton. The riders were impressed.
"We saw lots of spectators, also drummers. It was a nice atmosphere," Martin said after being presented with the red jersey for a second day.
"It made it really fun to ride today."
It was a feeling that reflected the world time trial champion's view of the technical side of the race today.
RESULTS:
Stage 2: 137km -- Bird's Nest to Men Tou Gou via North Gate of Summer Palace
1. HAUSSLER Heinrich GRM AUS 3h03 30
2. GALIMZYANOV Denis KAT RUS
3. BOS Theo RAB NED
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Martin honours rainbow jersey - Tour of Beijing - Stage 1 - Time Trialby ucichannel3,474 views
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