Chad Haga is well-known for his decade of racing on the highway on the highest degree however, after Human Powered Health ended their males’s ProTeam on the finish of 2023, the Texan transitioned to gravel, as many ex-pros have accomplished. A second-place end within the Unbound Gravel 200 in opposition to the deepest, best area within the occasion’s historical past confirmed the 35-year-old’s post-road profession is greater than only a enjoyable retirement train.
Haga went on the assault with Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost) at Unbound, and whereas he needed to concede defeat within the dash, the consequence was a affirmation that his efforts in turning into a gravel privateer have been worthwhile.
“It’s a reduction,” Haga stated after Unbound. “It’s my first 12 months racing gravel, it is a huge battle to attempt to get sponsorships, and I’ve obtained a number of key ones, however a consequence like this can assist show that I’m not a roadie that got here to gravel for a retirement. I very a lot get pleasure from this.”
Not solely did Haga not make the rostrum at Unbound, however he was the second-fastest rider within the quickest-ever version of the 200-mile race – all in his debut on the unforgiving race.
“I knew that the sphere was so deep and powerful that it will not work effectively for me to assault tremendous early,” Haga informed Cyclingnews. “I wanted guys to put on themselves out a bit. My tactic was to climate the storm and anticipate the second that guys began exhibiting indicators of fatigue, after which see if I may get out entrance.
“I actually did not know a lot concerning the course in any respect. I hadn’t been in Emporia fairly lengthy sufficient to do a correct lengthy recon of the northernmost half. It’s simply the best way that we raced it. Every time we’d get to a minimal upkeep highway, they’d simply completely smash it on the entrance and cut up the bunch.
‘Then we would get to the opposite facet and everyone would have a look at one another and it will regroup, and we’d pedal to the following one, after which do it another time. So it was only a very on-off nature that I didn’t like.”
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So, Haga made a transfer when Dutch rider Thijs Zonneveld launched an assault and he and Morton ultimately made it to him. They dropped Zonneveld, who had a puncture, and rode away from the remainder of the bunch.
It turned out that Unbound was excellent for an ex-WorldTour domestique like Haga who has years of driving on the entrance of the peloton in his legs.
“I may sense the ability that I may do. Once I used to be out entrance with Lachlan, I did not have to seek the advice of an influence meter to carry the identical tempo. I knew what I may maintain and simply type of did it by the very fact of getting accomplished it many instances earlier than.
“We did not have time splits, and so I did not know the way a lot time that we needed to play with, in order that additionally affected how late we needed to begin racing, or how late we may begin perhaps taking part in video games if we needed to,” he added.
“During the race, I had a second, I suppose, most likely across the final hour, the place Lachlan and I have been nonetheless simply motoring, and neither one in all us was exhibiting any actual signal of fatigue. And I assumed ‘I believe that we will do it’. That means I’ve obtained a 50-50 shot of profitable Unbound on my first strive!”
Haga could not match Morton ultimately, having led out the dash and watched the Australian blast previous, he went by means of the bittersweet feeling of getting on the rostrum however not the highest step.
“With 100 meters to go, I used to be main. Now I’m second. So feelings have been far and wide as I got here to that actuality,” he stated.
However, the bitter feelings quickly wore off as Haga reunited along with his teammates Tobias Kongstad, who completed third, and Sien Nordahl Svendsen who landed in sixth.
“There was no disappointment, like, ‘Oh, I want I’d have gained’, it was simply the three of us – all of us had an ideal race. We’re simply pumped for one another and for the group. And that evening we had a barbecue at our Airbnb, and all of the mechanics and the swannies that we had on the race have been with us so we simply celebrated as a group.”
A brand new profession
Haga’s WorldTour profession started to wind down on the finish of 2021 when he introduced he was leaving DSM after eight years with the group. He spent the following two years with Human Powered Health, however then the boys’s group closed on the finish of the 2023 season.
His subsequent steps got here from a season-end custom of doing “epic journey highway rides, ” which naturally led to an curiosity in gravel. But with the rise in reputation of gravel amongst ex-WorldTour execs, Haga knew he wanted to do one thing to show himself earlier than setting out.
Living in Girona, naturally, his first step was to set the quickest recognized time on the Traka 360 course on his personal time.
“Last fall I got down to set the course document on final 12 months’s 360 course solo, as a technique to announce my presence and attempt to garner some sponsorships,” Haga stated.
“I used to be having hassle getting sponsorships, as a result of at that time I used to be simply one other retired roadie racing gravel, asking for cash. And so I needed to show I’m not right here as somebody asking for retirement handouts, I’m right here to race critically, and I’m very succesful at it.
“[The Traka 360 record] was 12 hours and 56 minutes, and I did it in 12 hours and 52. So I felt like that was a powerful assertion. It did get the eye of the PAS Racing group and obtained me on this squad. So it was worthwhile.”
Haga raced the Traka 360 earlier this 12 months, ending third. “Not to discredit Unbound, however The Traka 360 was really my largest private aim this 12 months. It was my first occasion as a gravel privateer, actually,” Haga stated.
“The Traka is a house race for me [living in Girona]. I’m on the course sooner or later each single experience. So that was huge. The coronary heart needed that one rather a lot.”
Unfortunately, he made some errors with fuelling and needed to battle off a starvation knock en path to ending third. It was a very good check for the marginally shorter Unbound 200. With two podiums within the bag now, Haga headed again to Spain and to his household of 4.
“I’m dedicated to doing gravel at the least another 12 months. Like, I’m not able to be accomplished racing. I’m very a lot having fun with gravel, however I even have a younger household, and so attempting to steadiness all of that, however I’m not doing it simply as a technique to not cease [competing].
“I’m sincerely having fun with this, and so I’m extra enthusiastic about it proper now than I’ve been about highway racing for a number of years now. It’s probably not a transition from highway – that is the beginning of a brand new profession. The means that I’m feeling about it, that is nice.”
With his two main targets behind him, Haga is now going off in pursuit of an elusive victory.
“The Traka and Unbound have been the 2 races that I cared about essentially the most this 12 months. So now, I really feel just like the stress is off. I podiumed each of them. I nonetheless need to win one thing, so I’m gonna race laborious, however I simply really feel like I’m gonna go on the market race laborious and see what occurs, with out actually any stress.”
There’s a doable journey again to Colorado for SBT GRVL and, if he is chosen, the UCI Gravel World Championships.
“I wish to do it, however figuring out that the course would not swimsuit me fairly in addition to Unbound, that is the issue. Being a diesel, I want everyone to put on themselves out for six hours, after which I’m good to go.
“Some of those races are a bit shorter than that, so it is that is type of the thrilling a part of gravel racing. There’s not a ton of 9 to 14-hour races to select from.”