Tour de France shop window: Jack Haig and Will Barta chasing contracts 🇦🇺 🇺🇸
There’s no better shop window for an out-of-contract rider than the Tour de France
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The biggest race in the world, watched by countless roadside fans and millions of TV viewers, with every team boss present at the start and finish lines, offers an ideal chance for riders still seeking contracts to attract attention from teams with available spots or to negotiate better terms with their current teams. If you’re an out of contract rider, there’s no better place to be in July.
Step forward, Will Barta of Movistar and Jack Haig at Bahrain-Victorious, who are both out of contract at the end of this season and have yet to sign deals for 2026.
Barta is making his long-awaited Tour de France debut at the grand old age of 29 and was a last-minute roster change at Movistar thanks to his impressive 12th place at the Tour Suisse. The American was told to take it easy during the opening few stages of the race, even dialling it back on the stage 5 time trial to preserve his legs for supporting Enric Mas, and to break clear when the opportunity arises. He’s currently in the break on stage 6, but at the start town of Bayeux he spoke about his path to the Tour this season and his contract situation at Movistar.
“So far, it’s been good. The team has just been telling me to take it easy, so all you hear about the stress of the first week, I’ve felt it, but it’s not been super stressful or super hard. For me, the race starts today,” Barta said.
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“I feel super good right now. The main objective is to help Enric make the top five but when the days come around for breakaway, we have guys and I want to there in the break and trying to fight for a stage win. In the time trial I didn’t go full gas. The team asked me to go easy, and also if I go fast then maybe I’m top-twenty but that’s not really adding that too much if you’re 19th place in the TT,” Barta added.
At the start of the year, Barta wasn’t in contention for a Tour spot, but he had a solid spring and finished 15th in Paris-Nice - just four places behind team leader Pablo Castrillo. In Switzerland, the American was once again one of the team’s top performers, finishing only a few spots behind Castrillo.