Chad Haga: 'Tom Dumoulin impression' saved him - and Sunweb - in Giro d'Italia

Every year, a large number of cyclists retire, and the end of 2023 is no different. One of those riders is Chad Haga, who already rode the final kilometers of his road cycling career in the Tour of Denmark in August. IDLProCycling.com took one last dive into the ups and downs of his career!

Haga was born on August 26, 1988, in McKinney, in the American state of Texas. In that same city, at the age of 22, he obtained a university degree in engineering. During his university years, he also started his career as an amateur cyclist. Once he had his degree in hand, Haga chose to join the continental Rio Grande team.

In 2012, he joined the continental Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies team, where Haga definitively broke through in 2013. In the spring, he finished second behind Jasper Stuyven in the Portuguese stage race Volta ao Alentejo, an impressive performance which he continued in the important Tour of California in May. Cycling among established riders such as Tejay van Garderen, Michael Rogers and Francisco Mancebo, the American impressively finished tenth.

With these performances, Haga caught the eye of several WorldTour teams, with Giant-Shimano, led by Iwan Spekenbrink, proving to be the most determined. At that time, they were riding bikes made by the American brand Felt, so it would be a good thing to have some talented Americans riding those bikes. Haga and Lawson Craddock were thus recruited for 2014.

Ups and downs for Haga at team Spekenbrink

In his first year with the Dutch team, the sturdy American immediately demonstrated just what kind of rider he was: a true time trialist. He raced his way to honorary finishes in the Tours of California, Belgium and Burgos, which also led to his selection for the Vuelta a España. Additionally, he developed into a valued domestique for the Giant-Alpecin and Sunweb teams, serving as a luxury helper for Tom Dumoulin, among others.

In January 2016, near Calpe, Haga was one of the Sunweb cyclists who were hit head-on by a car. Haga initially appeared to be the most severely injured rider of the group. He was airlifted to the hospital and spent several days in intensive care, where he surprisingly managed to provide his Twitter followers with a dose of humor. He talked about his ride in the trauma helicopter, the effect of the crash on his phone and made jokes about his injuries.

His face and neck were particularly severely hit by the car that was involved in the head-on collision with him and his teammates. However, Haga, like his teammates, ultimately was relatively lucky: two months later, he was allowed to race again, although it took a while for him to mentally recover. He openly talked about his doubts during training and races and carried a large scar for the rest of his life.

But he persisted and managed to come out on the other side of this saga: in 2017, Haga was present at the Giro won by Dumoulin, and in 2018, he was one of the domestiques who supported the Dutchman in his second-place finishes in both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. Haga himself couldn't claim the win in those years, but his role in the team and his abilities in time trials were nevertheless valued. Thus, his contracts were continually extended, and in 2019, Haga was again preparing for another Giro alongside Dumoulin.

Haga turns unlucky Giro into Sunweb success

Just four days into the race, the team leader got into a big crash, as a result of which he failed to reach the finish the next day. From that point onwards, the remaining Sunweb riders were given free rein, which suddenly put Haga in a position to chase his own success. The intelligent American didn't do this by joining the battle for the early breakaway day after day, but by focusing meticulously on his specialty: time trials.

There were two more of these in that Giro: a hilly one on day nine heading towards San Marino, during which Primoz Roglic managed to keep everyone at bay, and the final time trial around Verona, which also included a tricky hill. Haga rode the final week conservatively and put all his efforts into that day in Verona, which turned out to be a good decision. Lotto Soudal Belgians Victor Campenaerts and Thomas De Gendt bit the dust and saw the American win the biggest — and only significant — victory of his career.

"I had to go really slow the last two weeks to go really fast today," the overjoyed American said after that time trial. "The team agreed that I didn't have to try to be in the breakaway of the day like the other guys. It really feels great that I can repay that trust." He also thought of team leader Dumoulin during the time trial. "I did my very best Tom Dumoulin impression. In everything I did, I thought: 'This is what Tom would do'," said Haga.

In 2020 and 2021, the time trialist and super-domestique tried to repeat his success in the Giro and Vuelta, but this time he couldn't convert his superpower (time trial on final days) into a victory: he finished seventh in Italy and fifth in Spain. The latter turned out to be his final race for what was by then Team DSM, which he left after eight years of loyal service. "In those years, I was hit by a car, got married, lost my father, became a father myself and got more used to Europe than I ever expected. They were eight unforgettable years," he reflected at the time.

For 2022, he signed with the pro-continental Human Powered Health, where he wanted to chase his own success more. That proved more difficult than expected: Haga couldn't compete for results anymore and gradually made the switch to gravel, a discipline where many Americans feel at home. "End of the road..." wrote 'Hagasaki', as his nickname goes, on social media. Good luck with whatever you do next, Chad!