Alan Hatherly extends his Jayco AlUla deal until 2028 and remains determined to return to the top of MTB

Alan Hatherly will remain linked to Team Jayco AlUla for the next two seasons. The double world champion of XCO has renewed until the end of 2028, a date that coincides with the Los Angeles Olympic Games, where he aims to win gold in mountain biking.

Alan Hatherly renews until 2028 with Jayco AlUla

The Australian structure GreenEDGE Cycling has confirmed the renewal of Alan Hatherly for 2027 and 2028. The 30-year-old South African will thus continue the project that began in 2025, when after winning his first XCO World Championship, he surprised everyone by leaving Cannondale Factory Racing to join the Giant Factory Off-Road Team and also compete on the road with Jayco AlUla.

That move represented much more than a team change. After winning the World Championship and the overall XCO World Cup in 2024, Hatherly decided to test himself in the WorldTour without definitively abandoning MTB. A combination that allowed him to once again become the XCO world champion in 2025, while accumulating his first experiences in the professional road peloton.

Hatherly will continue to develop on the road after debuting in the Giro d'Italia

The 2026 season has marked another important step in his adaptation to the road. Hatherly started the year with a thirteenth place in the overall classification of the Tirreno-Adriatico and later finished third in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, where he also achieved a stage podium.

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However, his most significant experience came in May, when he competed in his first grand tour at the Giro d'Italia. It was a gamble that directly affected his MTB calendar, as he had to forgo the early World Cup events to prepare for and compete in the Italian race.

The Australian team itself highlights these results in its renewal announcement, considering that the South African continues to progress after his first two seasons on the road.

His continuity is part of a broader announcement from GreenEDGE Cycling, which has also renewed until 2028 for Felix Engelhardt and Patrick Gamper in the men's team, as well as Josie Talbot and Jeanne Korevaar in the Liv AlUla Jayco women's team.

MTB continues to be part of the project and Los Angeles 2028 is the main goal

Since Hatherly made the jump to the road, the South African made it clear that his foray into the WorldTour was not intended to abandon XCO, but rather a strategy to improve his physical level ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games.

"The most important thing I try to achieve by combining both disciplines is to become a better athlete and, especially, to prepare for the Los Angeles Olympic Games," he explained a little over a year ago.

Hatherly also pointed out that he needed several years to develop his road capabilities, elevate his physical level, and then return with greater dedication to mountain biking in 2028.

This planning originates from the bronze medal achieved at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After winning two consecutive world titles and an overall World Cup, the Olympic gold is the major result still missing from his palmarès.

During 2026 we have seen the difficulties of combining both disciplines and after competing in the Giro, Hatherly announced his return to the XCO World Cup to face the second half of the season. A transition that has not had as good results as in previous seasons and although he has been crowned XCO champion of South Africa, he has not managed to enter the Top 10 in any of the World Cup events contested.

For now, GreenEDGE Cycling has confirmed his contractual continuity until 2028, but has not presented a competition calendar for MTB and road for 2027 and 2028. It has also not announced in this statement an independent renewal of his link with Giant Factory Off-Road.