"The transition from mountain biking to road cycling can be quick" - Like Pidcock, Hatherly continues to mix the two disciplines with success
Cycling
Alan Hatherly was a wildcard signing for Team Jayco AlUla in 2025, but it was a complete success. The South African has managed to balance his time on the road and mountain biking quite well, and on the previous he managed to take some quite interesting results where his potential was fulfilled - and more can be promised for the future.
"I felt I'd reached a point where I needed to learn and progress in a different way. On the road, everything comes down to fatigue resistance," Hatherly said in words to ESTMB. "You have to be able to give your all even when exhausted. It's a complete learning curve".
Hatherly was sixth at the AlUla Tour where he was Tom Pidcock's main competitor in the hilly stages, won the time trial national championships and late in the year he finished 11th at the Arctic Race of Norway and 17th at the Tour of Guangxi. From April to August he took a break from racing on the road to compete in MTB where he proved to be quite successful, winning the XCO World Championships and then a week later taking his first win in his renewed rainbow jersey at the Lenzerheide race.
"I've realized that the transition from mountain biking to road cycling can be quick. I’ll be back to defend my world title for the third time. Even if I win Olympic gold, I’ll never leave mountain biking. It’s what made me who I am; it’s in my DNA.”
Continuing to combine MTB and road
With Jayco losing climbers such as Eddie Dunbar and Chris Harper, Hatherly could definitely have more leadership opportunities in 2026 and the 29-year old could have more team support on the road if he so desires. Calendar will only be discussed later in the team's first training camp, however he already assured that he is going to continue competing off-road, albeit putting more emphasis on the road most likely.
“I’ve realized that you can switch from road to mountain biking quickly and efficiently. Maybe I’ll do a few less World Cup rounds, but I’ll always try to do a few and the World Championships every year. You have to be courageous, commit fully to the road when the time is right, then return to mountain biking with the same intensity," he concluded.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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