Jack Haig is one of the second line challengers for Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel in the upcoming Giro d’Italia as he will lead the Bahrain Victorious team.
“If I manage to do that in the Giro, then I can be happy,” Haig says about a possible top 5 in the general classification. “The fact that I finished the Tour of the Alps with a third place is nice in the run-up to the Giro. In any case, I know that Ineos Grenadiers have a very strong squad, and Tao Geoghegan Hart is already in very good shape. I also know that my condition is slowly improving.”
In the last two weeks before the Giro, Haig will not do much training.
“I need some rest. I’m going to spend time at home with my family and then go to Italy,” he says. “Everything went well in that regard. I have not had any injuries or illnesses, so I feel good. I have hoped to be able to confirm my form, just before the Giro.”
Sports director Franco Pellizotti of Bahrain Victorious was extremely satisfied with Haig’s final race preparation.
“For Jack, this was his first race after the Volta a Catalunya and the altitude training. He mainly wanted to test his fitness here and he is happy with that. He still needs to improve a bit towards the Giro, but he is well on his way.”
“After the Vuelta two years ago, where he was on the podium, we are going for a good classification again. But Roglic and Evenepoel are of a different level. That’s why we know that, with this startlist, we are fighting behind those two.”
“But Jack can be the surprise. The Giro is the Giro, there are 21 stages and the weather can also play a role,” said Pellizotti, who himself rode the Giro eleven times and won two stages. “We have a strong team around Jack with Gino Mäder, Damiano Caruso and Santiago Buitrago. We have a lot of riders who can try something.”
