Alan Hatherly was a wildcard signing for Team Jayco AlUla in 2025, but it was a complete success. The South African has managed to balance his time on the road and mountain biking quite well, and on the previous he managed to take some quite interesting results where his potential was fulfilled – and more can be promised for the future.
“I felt I’d reached a point where I needed to learn and progress in a different way. On the road, everything comes down to fatigue resistance,” Hatherly said in words to ESTMB. “You have to be able to give your all even when exhausted. It’s a complete learning curve”.
Hatherly was sixth at the AlUla Tour where he was Tom Pidcock’s main competitor in the hilly stages, won the time trial national championships and late in the year he finished 11th at the Arctic Race of Norway and 17th at the Tour of Guangxi. From April to August he took a break from racing on the road to compete in MTB where he proved to be quite successful, winning the XCO World Championships and then a week later taking his first win in his renewed rainbow jersey at the Lenzerheide race.
“I’ve realized that the transition from mountain biking to road cycling can be quick. I’ll be back to defend my world title for the third time. Even if I win Olympic gold, I’ll never leave mountain biking. It’s what made me who I am; it’s in my DNA.”
Continuing to combine MTB and road
With Jayco losing climbers such as Eddie Dunbar and Chris Harper, Hatherly could definitely have more leadership opportunities in 2026 and the 29-year old could have more team support on the road if he so desires. Calendar will only be discussed later in the team’s first training camp, however he already assured that he is going to continue competing off-road, albeit putting more emphasis on the road most likely.
“I’ve realized that you can switch from road to mountain biking quickly and efficiently. Maybe I’ll do a few less World Cup rounds, but I’ll always try to do a few and the World Championships every year. You have to be courageous, commit fully to the road when the time is right, then return to mountain biking with the same intensity,” he concluded.