Rider Spotlight: Jack Haig
Recently, the Alé Cycling team caught up with Australian cyclist Jack Haig of Team Bahrain Victorious. Over the length of his career, Jack has racked up many impressive wins - including a recent podium finish at the 2021 Vuelta a España.
During our conversation with Jack, we touched on everything from his pre-race preparations to his favourite routes and must-have cycling apparel. Read the full interview below.
Alé is kit sponsor of Team Bahrain Victorious. In 2021, the team unveiled two limited edition Alé-produced kits which aim to build awareness of obesity and diabetes.
Where did you grow up, and how did you get started in cycling?
I grew up half of my childhood in the hinterland of the Gold Coast at the top of Beechmont before we moved to Bendigo when I was around 13 years old. It wasn't until we moved to Bendigo that I started to get into cycling.
My parents were looking for things for me to do after we'd moved, and one of them was going to the local mountain bike club. So I started cycling through the mountain bike club, and there is a really nice cycling community in Bendigo that helped me.
But it wasn't until I was around 17 years old that I started to take it more seriously and went to represent Australia at the Junior Mountain Bike World Championships.
What was your first bike?
To be honest, I don't really remember my first bike, but one of the earlier bikes I had was a second-hand 26-inch silver Specialized Rockhopper that I used for everything -- riding to school, dirt jumping and racing at the MTB club.
Where do you live now?
I live in Andorra, a really small country in the Pyrenees sandwiched between Spain and France. It's a very mountainous country with great roads for training, but during the winter, it can get a little hard for training because the whole country basically turns into a ski resort.

If you could cycle any route in the world tomorrow, where would you go?
Haha, that's a good question. Probably some crazy adventure through the northern mountains of India near Nepal and China or through the countryside of Japan.
Favourite or most memorable race/tour?
It's hard to look past La Vuelta a España this year, especially with everything that led up to the race. The crash and broken collarbone I had during the Tour de France, all the recovery process after the surgery to get back to fitness and then to finish on the podium.
What do you do to prepare for a Grand Tour?
To be honest, it's nothing special, just a lot of riding, climbing and resting. If I was to simplify it a lot, I'll normally do 25+ hours and over 15,000m of vertical climbing a week for the 3' training weeks' before a Grand Tour. Afterwards, a small taper period and then go to the race.
Do you follow a specific diet?
No, I just try to keep it fairly simple when we start to get towards the important race and try to focus on getting normal healthy foods that support the training load I'm doing.
When you are not riding, what do you do?
Well, my wife and I recently had a baby, so that keeps me/us pretty busy when I'm not riding. But I enjoy hiking around Andorra and skiing during the winter. Whenever we can get away for a little bit, I love surfing and grew up doing it in Australia.
How important is good apparel for a pro cyclist?
At the moment, as we're coming into winter in Europe, a nice lightweight jacket you can keep in your pocket to put on at the top of a climb to descend. A pair of semi water-resistant winter bib tights and a good base layer.
But during racing, I almost always race in a skinsuit, so a nice aero road suit and obviously a good chamois because getting through a Grand Tour with a bad chamois isn't so fun…...
Must-have garments for winter/summer riding?
I mentioned some of the winter ideas above, but for summer during training, a nice lightweight summer jersey can make the hot days a little more comfortable. Nice socks are always nice to put on, and because I live in the mountains, either a nice lightweight vest or jacket that doesn't take up much room in your pockets.