Heinrich Haussler was a professional rider for 19 years, half his life. Born in Australia, he moved to Germany at the age of 14 to become a pro cyclist. He won stages at the Tour de France, the Vuelta and the Tour de Suisse. But his great love was the cobblestones in Belgium and France. He had to end his career in 2023 due to heart problems. Instead of spending his days on the saddle, he now sits behind the wheel of the race car as a Sports Director. Heinrich Haussler talks about his second career as a young Sports Director, his passion for the classics and why the races are tougher today than they were 15 years ago.
Heino, back in Belgium, back in the classics. How does that feel for you?
Being back here feels like coming home. I love this atmosphere! It starts on the Opening Weekend and then the excitement builds and builds until the highlights. I love just about everything here - the races, the weather, the atmosphere, the recons, the tactical meetings. I'm really passionate about the classics, it's just my thing.
You had to end your career last year after heart problems. How are you doing now?
The first few years weren’t easy for me, after all, I had been a pro rider for almost half my life. Fortunately, I was already at the end of my career and wasn't entirely sure whether I would be able to continue for another year anyway. Continuing my career would have been far too much of a health risk. An inflammation of the heart muscle left a scar on my heart. Extreme cardiac arrhythmia was the result. Today I have a pacemaker and a defibrillator in my chest.
The classics and especially those in Flanders were your great love as a pro cyclist. Now you're back on the cobblestones as Sports Director. Was it a career aspiration that you already had as a pro?
It was definitely my aspiration. I live for cycling, I've done nothing else my whole life. It was always clear to me that I wanted to pass on my experience after my professional career. In my last team as a professional, they wanted to sign me as a DS a few years ago. I always had to fight a bit to be able to do one more year as a rider. After all, I can still be a Sports Director for a long time, the years as a professional are limited.
What was your favourite classic to ride as a pro?
I really enjoyed riding Omloop het Nieuwsblad. The start of the classics season, road cycling in Belgium wakes up from hibernation and you are immediately gripped by the atmosphere.
But of course I also rode the Tour of Flanders. A monument, the highlight for the Belgians, crowds along the route - goosebumps!
But: my personal favourite is Paris-Roubaix. I still have a fire in me for this race. If someone would tell me today that I had the green light for Roubaix from a medical point of view - I would get on my bike immediately. A dream that will unfortunately remain only a dream.
But the anticipation of my first Paris-Roubaix as Sports Director is also enormous. The days leading up to the race are like the days before Christmas for a litte kid.
And now as Sports Director?
I can't really answer that yet after my short time as DS. But I do have a preference for the classics. I know the races very well, so I can pass on a lot of knowledge to the riders. At what point in the race do you have to be in position, where do crashes almost always happen or on which climb can the decisive attack be made. I still think like a rider, I know what it feels like to ride into a cobbled section at 500 watts. That helps me a lot in my work here.
How have the classics changed in recent years?
The races have changed dramatically. Every team has a real classics squad with extremely strong riders. The races are so brutally hard and demand everything from the pros. You have to be 100% focused for 6 hours. There used to be a sprint for position before the Kwaremont, but today the Tour of Flanders is a 270km long battle for position. There were maybe 10 specialists for these races. Today, every team has several classics riders who can also ride for victory.
In 2009 you were 2nd in the Tour of Flanders. Is the race being ridden differently today?
The big guys ride incredible solos. In 2009 we crossed the finish line in Ninove with 30 men. Compared to today, the race course was easier than this year. Also, material, training, nutrition - a lot has changed since 2009. A rider like Mathieu van der Poel would probably have kicked our asses back then.
You are a young DS and have ridden in the peloton with most of your riders. That can be helpful and challenging at the same time, can't it?
I am perhaps still a young Sports Director. But the DSs in other teams are also getting younger. The sport has changed, the races are being ridden differently, the tactics have changed. A Sports Director who was a professional not so long ago can be very valuable. I know a lot of riders in the peloton and perhaps also know where their weaknesses lie. Modern cycling has only just spit me out of the whirlwind and even though I'm now behind the wheel, I know the dynamics within the peloton very well. The guys trust me and my experience.
Emil Herzog is 19 and rode his first Tour of Flanders last weekend. You were a pro for 19 years and rode Flanders 15 times. What advice would you give a young pro like Emil in his first season?
I turned pro at 20, and I can understand him very well on many levels. We really talk a lot before and after the races. He has a great engine and outstanding bike control - Emil has real talent for the classics. But he still has a lot to learn. Positioning, getting to know the sections of the course, seeing opportunities and then having the courage to take advantage of them.
Your first Paris-Roubaix as a DS is coming up this weekend. A race with which you associate many memories and emotions. Are you excited? Looking forward to it?
Roubaix is the crown of the classics season. The nervous first 90km, the battles for position before Arenberg, the pain in the hands - no other race is so hard on the body and mind, no other race gets so much adrenaline flowing. I think it will be very similar in the car behind the wheel.
As a Sports Director, you experience the race with a similar emotional intensity. You can feel how the riders suffering, you feel the excitement and give everything on the radio to make sure they never give up.
I enjoy this tense anticipation before Roubaix, I'm incredibly excited about the race!
Roubaix is extremely tough for the riders. What are the challenges for a Sports Director?
You have to be flexible at Paris-Roubaix. You don't just need a plan B. Even if plan C doesn't work out, you still need ideas on how to deal with that.
So much can happen here; it's the only place where you can be hopelessly left behind and end up on the podium in Roubaix. Roubaix requires meticulous preparation. The organisation of the support staff on the course, strategies for catering and quick help in case of defects.
The finish line in the Roubaix velodrome also marks the end of the cobbled classics. Did you used to be wistful that this special time of year is already over?
Wistful is almost an understatement for me personally. When you live for the classics and put so much energy and passion into this time, there is a certain emptiness after Roubaix.
As a rider, a new season would begin for me. A season in which I had to work for my captains in stage races and secretly only dream of the next classics season. Now, as Sports Director, I also feel this nostalgia and emptiness, but I'm also looking forward to the new challenges this summer. The classics were very easy for me as a DS, everything feels so natural. I know how to win races in Belgium. But I still have to learn how to lead a team to success in the Tour. The Giro will be an exciting time for me, I can learn a lot from my colleagues. The classics book with notes on route sections and tire pressure will stay in my pocket - you can never start preparing early enough.
Last question: Leffe or Kwaremont?
The atmosphere on the Kwaremont is unbeatable (smiles). But for us in high-performance sport, only the non-alcoholic version from our partner Krombacher comes into question.
© Anderl Hartmann