Australian lead out man follows German sprinter to Belgian team
Adam Hansen has become the latest HTC-Columbia rider to make the leap across to OmegaPharma-Lotto. The Australian, who is an integral part of his current team’s sprint lead out, follows German sprinter André Greipel to the Belgian team on a two-year contract.
The 29-year-old from Queensland has been with HTC-Columbia, and its previous incarnation T-Mobile, since 2007, having previously spent four years riding on Austrian third division and Continental teams.
In June this year Hansen won the overall classification of the Ster Elektrotoer in the Netherlands, taking a stage victory on the way. A little more than two weeks later though, he was forced to abandon the Tour de France after breaking his collarbone in a crash between Rotterdam, Netherlands and Brussels, Belgium. Despite his crash happening mid way through the stage he continued to the finish, but was unable to start the next day.
Previously Hansen’s biggest victory had been the Australian time trial championships in January 2008; he finished second in the road race just three days later.