Bahrain Victorious say goodbye to seven departing riders ahead of 2026 season, including Haig, Wright and Træen

ANDORRA LA VELLA, ANDORRA - AUGUST 29: Torstein Traeen of Norway and Team Bahrain - Victorious - Red Leader Jersey prior to the La Vuelta - 80th Tour of Spain 2025, Stage 7 a 188km stage from Andorra la Vella to Cerler. Huesca La Magia 1910m / #UCIWT / on August 29, 2025 in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Torstein Traeen (Image credit: Getty Images)

Bahrain Victorious said goodbye to seven riders today ahead of the 2026 season, with former Vuelta a España podium finisher Jack Haig and red jersey wearer from this year's Vuelta, Torstein Traen, among them.

After that career-best result in 2021, Haig has struggled to rediscover that peak as the sport has progressed, with crashes and bad luck among the things that have set him back into his 30s. 2025 was his fifth year on Bahrain and saw him mostly compete as a road captain, though he's yet to have a new place for 2026 announced as of yet.

Træen bounced back to his best at the Vuelta after a long struggle with a concussion in the early portion of 2025, with second place from the breakaway on stage 6 earning him four days in the coveted red jersey.

Though the Norwegian ultimately dropped down the rankings, he held on well enough to finish ninth overall amid a strong field, and he's now been heavily linked to a move back to his home team – Uno-X Mobility.

Broadcaster TV 2 Norway reported that "the parties have reached an agreement, and that only a signature and paperwork remain before the agreement is formally in place". As the team heads for their first season in the WorldTour after earning a late promotion, Uno-X Mobility's 30-man roster would be completed with Træen.

The other five riders confirmed to be leaving Bahrain-Victorious were Fred Wright, Finlay Pickering, Andrea Pasqualon, Sergio Tu and Nicolò Buratti. The latter has joined Hungarian ProTeam MBH Bank CSB Ballan for 2026.

"I’ve learned a lot about being in the WorldTour over the last two years, and now moving to Team Jayco AlUla, I can hopefully develop into being an even better bike rider," said the 22-year-old.

James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

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