Chad Haga announces departure from Team DSM after eight years

Team DSMs Chad Haga of US competes during the fourth stage of the 73rd edition of the Criterium du Dauphine cycling race a 16km time trial between Firmigny and RochelaMoliere on June 2 2021 Photo by Alain JOCARD AFP Photo by ALAIN JOCARDAFP via Getty Images
Chad Haga (Team DSM) in action at the 2021 Critérium du Dauphiné (Image credit: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images)

American time trial specialist Chad Haga is set to leave Team DSM after eight years with the German squad, he has announced in an Instagram post.

33-year-old Haga, who has been with the team since turning pro back in 2014, wrote that he's planning to challenge himself with a new team, but didn't reveal any details of a move for 2022.

"8 years ago, I joined Team DSM, a single bike racer unfamiliar with Europe and already old by today's standards. The years since then have been an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything!" he wrote.

"I got to help my teammates win races like Milan-San Remo, the Giro d'Italia, the GPs Québec and Montréal, and so many others, as well as snagging one myself – not to mention the countless team performances that didn't result in victory but deserved to.

"Along the way, I got hit by a car, got married, lost my father to cancer, became a father, and became more familiar with Europe than I ever imagined. The whole time, I have prayed that when it was time to move on, God would make that clear and open the right doors at the right time just as He did at the beginning of my career.

"Now it's time to walk through that door and challenge myself in new ways on a new team, and I'm excited to share that news soon. For now, I just want to thank Team DSM for 8 unforgettable years, and I'll see you on the road!"

Haga, who hails from McKinney in Texas, has taken one victory during his time at DSM, a time trial victory in Verona to round out the 2019 Giro d'Italia. As a worker for others, he has been a driving force for the team, taking part in 12 Grand Tours including the 2020 Giro d'Italia where Jai Hindley and Wilco Kelderman took second and third overall.

This year, Haga – who in recent years has written a running blog for Cyclingnews – took second place in the time trial at the US National Championships as well as sixth in the road race three days later.

He also raced the Vuelta a España, helping teammates Michael Storer and Romain Bardet to a total of four stage wins for the team. His 2021 season ended with a fifth place in the closing time trial at the race.

Haga is the seventh rider confirmed to be leaving DSM during this off-season. While Nicolas Roche retires, Hindley heads to Bora-Hansgrohe, Storer to Groupama-FDJ, Jasha Sütterlin to Bahrain Victorious, Max Kanter to Movistar, and Felix Gall to AG2R Citroën.

John Degenkolb heads up the incoming list as he rejoins the team he left in 2016. Uno-X riders Jonas Hvideberg and Frederik Rodenberg also join for 2022, while Henri Vandenabeele, Leon Heinschke, and Marius Mayrhofer step up from Development Team DSM.

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Daniel Ostanek
Production editor

Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.

 

Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

 

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40.