Team News: 2nd for Aussie Haig in Ruta De Sol

Team News: 2nd for Aussie Haig in Ruta De Sol

Saturday’s stage winner Jack Haig put in a strong time trial performance on the final day of Ruta del Sol to move himself up to finish in second place overall, his second podium finish of the season. Mitchelton-SCOTT teammate Alex Edmondson also enjoyed a podium placing, blasting around the short and technical TT course to finish the stage in third place, just two seconds down on the stage winner Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McLaren), while Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) secured the overall race win.

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After four-days of hard and hilly racing, the riders took their time trial bikes out for a 13kilometre technical TT with many twists and turns. It was Haig’s teammate Edmondson who set the real dangerous benchmark, completing the distance with a blistering time of 17 minutes 59 seconds. The Mitchelton-SCOTT rider then had a long wait, remaining in the hot seat until the final few riders crossed the line, with only Teuns and Fuglsang able to better his time and knock the Australian off the top step.

Haig knew he had it all to gain or lose in the timed event, starting the stage with small buffer over fourth position and the realistic chance to move up to second overall. The Australian paced his effort and crossed the line in seventh place, with a time good enough to bump him up ahead of Landa in the overall standings. It was a promising fortnight for Haig who wrapped up a consistent week at Ruta del Sol, finishing inside the top ten on every stage, despite having overcome a mishap on stage three which caused him to lose valuable seconds in the final metres.

The 26-year-old showed his resilience to bounce back, win the penultimate and move himself onto the final podium, giving his teammates a nice reward for their hardwork and commitment throughout the five-day tour. This comes off the back of his first podium finish of the year in Volta Valencia earlier in the month.

Jack Haig – 2nd place overall – “It is a great feeling to move up to second overall especially going into the TT in third place and not really expecting to move up. It is a great start to the season. If you would have told me I would come away with second place before the race then I would have been incredibly happy. Even with the little mishap the other day in the final, it has still been an incredible week and the guys have done an amazing job helping me everyday. For the new guys in the team Alex Konychev and Andrey Zeits, it was their first stage race with us and I think it worked really well.”

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Alex Edmondson – 3rd on stage 5 – “It’s bitter sweet to be so close to the win but it’s given me some good confidence that the hard work I put in the winter is paying off. I’m looking forward to racing in Belgium now at the Classics and hopefully I can keep the ball rolling. It’s been a wicked few days here with the team and to help get Jack up for second place overall I think we can be super happy with our efforts.”

STAGE
1. Dylan Teuns Bahrain-McLaren 17:57
2. Jakob Fuglsang Astana Pro Team @ 00
3. Alex Edmondson Mitchelton-Scott @ 02
4. Pello Bilbao Bahrain-McLaren @ 03
5. Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates @ 09
6. Ion Izagirre Astana Pro Team @ 17
7. Jack Haig Mitchelton-Scott @ 24
8. Chris Harper Team Jumbo-Visma @ 31
9. Nelson Oliveira Movistar Team @ 32
10. Sonny Colbrelli Bahrain-McLaren @ 33

19. Mikel Landa Bahrain-McLaren @ 58
32. Niki Terpstra Total Direct Energie @ 01:14
39. James Shaw Riwal Readynez Cycling @ 01:23
70. Scott Thwaites Alpecin-Fenix @ 01:49
76. Sebastian Mora Movistar Team @ 01:54
77. Matthew Holmes Lotto Soudal @ 01:54
125. Enrique Sanz Unzue Equipo Kern Pharma @ 03:37

Final Overall
1. Jakob Fuglsang Astana Pro Team 17:47:58
2. Jack Haig Mitchelton-Scott @ 59
3. Mikel Landa Bahrain-McLaren @ 01:12
4. Ion Izagirre Astana Pro Team @ 01:18
5. Dylan Teuns Bahrain-McLaren @ 01:45
6. Pello Bilbao Bahrain-McLaren @ 01:47
7. Brandon McNulty UAE Team Emirates @ 03:08
8. Marc Soler Movistar Team @ 03:21
9. Ruben Fernandez Fundacion-Orbea @ 03:33
10. Harm Vanhoucke Lotto Soudal @ 04:12

49. James Shaw Riwal Readynez Cycling Team @ 25:01
90. Scott Thwaites Alpecin-Fenix @ 42:05
114. Matthew Holmes Lotto Soudal @ 57:47