"We will have a good battle on our hands" - Haig puts pressure on Slovenians, whilst preparing Tour assault under the radar
Cycling
Jack Haig has put on a strong performance at the Critérium du Dauphiné, looking good in the mountains and riding himself into the Top5 of the race. He will be ambitious going into the Tour de France, however he's also taken notes regarding the competition.
“Jumbo-Visma are the clear favorites now. The first couple of days were quite interesting. At first I was a bit ‘meh’ about them, but they put all those doubts to bed the last couple of days," Haig said after the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he rode a consistent race into fifth place in the final overall.
He's experienced first hand the incredibly powerful lineup that Jumbo-Visma will take to the Tour de France, however he stresses that "A lot of it depends on what Pogačar does". Haig will be leading Bahrain - Victorious alongside Damiano Caruso, and possibly Gino Mäder with who he teamed up with last year at the Vuelta a España last year successfully.
He will be aiming high for the Tour, however he shifts the discourse into the battle that's likely to happen higher in the ranks: “At the moment, we haven’t seen Pogačar in a while. So if Pogačar destroys everyone at Slovenia, then we will have a good battle on our hands."
However, he points out that "all the work at altitude in Sierra Nevada is paying off" and the Bahrain duo are looking in form for the Tour, however with two weeks and a half left to the Grand Depart there is still time to raise the level further ahead of their big goal.
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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.
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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 had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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👊 @CarusoDamiano joined @jackhaig93 in the final metres of the 74th @dauphine, cementing 4th & 5th positions in the overall classification and 2nd place in the Team Classification. #RideAsOne #Dauphiné 📸 @SprintCycling
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