Haas kicks butt at Tour of Oman

Haas Oman

Photo Credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com – via Cycling News

Nathan Haas from Katusha-Alpecin has finished fifth on the final stage of Tour of Oman, also securing the green points jersey. Watch out for Nathan ripping it down the mountain passes and through the streets of Europe this year. Apart from being a weapon physically, the hard working Aussie is known for his intelligence on and off the bike and will no doubt use that when it counts in the big races this year. We’ll be watching closely, having worked with him in the off-season, to see how the tweaks to his technique have gone. We got highly technical and detailed with his cornering, braking and other elements of his riding, with excellent feedback and results from Haas. And we’re of course chuffed with Haas’s comments post-race at Tour of Oman:

“To be honest, I don’t think that I can get fitter than this, it’s all about staying cool and healthy. That’s really what it comes down to,” said Haas. “I’ve really been focusing on time trialling and it’s not for winning time trials, it’s for the finals of races. So far, I’ve been feeling a big gear difference in how I’m riding. When you feel comfortable with the power then you make better decisions as well. I’ve been working on a lot of things this season and doing a lot of skills camps.

“There’s this guy in Australia called Dylan Cooper [from Ride Technics], who I think is a level above Sagan in bike handling, he’s just incredible. He runs a skills coaching course. I know that I’m seven years’ pro, but I’m never too big to admit when there’s a gap in competence between me and the best. I think that I’ve closed a gap in the last corners for sprints and in crazy downhills.

“You save energy there and you save energy by being able to stay cool in those finals…”

Full report, results and photo gallery on Cycling News