"We will have a good battle on our hands" - Haig puts pressure on Slovenians, whilst preparing Tour assault under the radar

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.