A relative latecomer to the professional ranks after earning an engineering degree at Texan A&M, Chad Haga has learned quickly since arriving at WorldTour level in 2014. He received a ringing vote of confidence from his Giant-Alpecin squad when he was handed a two-year contract extension during the winter.
“They always say the second contract is the hardest one, so just getting it at all is confirmation that my hard work has been noticed,” Haga told Cyclingnews at the Giant-Alpecin team presentation in Berlin last week. “It’s exciting to see how much more I can develop in the next two years and what kind of results I can get.”
The 27-year-old Haga was assigned a largely supporting role through his first two seasons at Giant-Alpecin, and while those duties will continue in 2017, he is likely to have a little more leeway to follow his own ambitions in the two years to come.
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“I think I’ll get more opportunities where I’ll be the guy at lower-level races and some of the WorldTour races, and then I’ll also get more responsibility in the top races where we’re trying for results with somebody else,” Haga explained.
While the departure of Marcel Kittel to Etixx-QuickStep marks a definitive change in the Giant-Alpecin’s emphasis, Haga does not believe it will change his role unduly. “I’ve proven I can be pretty adaptable in whatever role the team wants me to play, whether it’s setting up the sprint train or riding on the hilly stages in support of a rider,” Haga said. “That’s the area I hope to improve on most this year, my climbing, to survive later in the day on big mountain stages.”
Haga’s early-season programme will see him build towards the Giro d’Italia by riding the Tours of Qatar and Oman and a series of French one-day races in February, before tackling the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie ahead of the corsa rosa.
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