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Haussler OK after crash in Volta ao Algarve

February 19, 2010 - Filed under: TestTeam

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Alberto Contador scored his first win of the 2010 season today atop the Alto do Malhão in the third stage of the Volta ao Algarve finishing ahead of RadioShack's Tiago Machado and Levi Leipheimer. Contador's win puts him into the overall lead in the race. Oscar Pujol (Spa) in eighteenth position had the best result today for Cervélo TestTeam.

The race saw a smaller peloton today, reduced by 13 riders who abandoned the race yesterday during the cold and rainy second stage. Though today's weather was much improved, yesterday's weather took its toll on today's race route. To compensate, organizers had to add on distance (8km) in order to re-route the race around the damaged roads.

"We finally got some nice weather today, though it was windy. The first 25 kilometres were very flat and the stage got off to a really fast start," said Marcello Albasini, Sports Director. "Along with the fast start there were also a number of crashes. One of the biggest, with 5-6 riders in it, contained Heinrich Haussler. He complained of some pain in his knee but seems to be all right and did complete the stage. At about 10 kilometres into the stage a break away occurred with seven riders including TestTeam's Ted King. They made it until about the last 30 kilometres when Astana pulled them back into the bunch. The stage's real challenge was the six categorized climbs in quick succession in the last 60 kilometres totaling 3,807 metres. It started to look like a stage from the Tour de France. Astana controlled the race as the climbs progressed and got steeper with the stage ending in a mountain finish. Unfortunately we did lose Jeremy Hunt today for the remainder of this race. He was complaining of knee pain and decided, after his long breakaway yesterday, to take care of his knee so he is in top form for the upcoming spring classics."

Stage 3: Castro Marim - Malhão 173.7km

1. Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 5:02:55
2. Tiago Machado (Por) Team RadioShack 0:00:11
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 0:00:22
18. Oscar Pujol (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam