Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita/Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) wins a stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.(Image credit: Laura Weislo)
Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) will race for a ProTour team in 2010.(Image credit: Jon Safka)
Lucas Sebastian Haedo’s success on the US road racing circuit has landed him a contract with ProTour team Saxo Bank in 2010. The Argentinean sprinter has returned to his motherland’s warm summer months to prepare for his long awaited dream of cycling at the highest level alongside elder brother Juan Jose Haedo.
"The truth is that I’ve been waiting all my life for this moment, always waiting to be able to ride together on the same team as my brother," Haedo said. "I believe that it was destiny for me and for my brother to race together and who better than to do it with than on a team like Saxo Bank. I believe that it’s one of the best teams in the world."
Haedo, 26, was recently released from his 2010 contract with the newly named Jamis-Sutter Home presented by Colavita. He acknowledged the efforts of manager Giovanni Lombardi for helping to secure a heavily sought-after spot on the Saxo Bank squad. However, Haedo’s results while racing in 2009 for the Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light team were enough to turn the heads of some of the most well known Directeur Sportifs in the world.
"I believe that this year I had a very good season in the USA," Haedo said. "Also, with the help of my brother, Jota, and [Giovanni] Lombardi the specifics were organized to join the team Saxo Bank."
He ignited the 2009 season with three top-ten finishes at the Tour of California, North America’s marquee stage race. He concluded the season ranked third on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) with nine victories and a podium place at the Tour of Missouri.
Only time will tell if Saxo Bank gives Haedo the opportunity to debut in one of three Grand Tours. He admitted that he hopes to return to the USA next year, in his new outfit, to compete in the Tour of California and the International Cycling Championships held in Philadelphia.
"I hope I do a lot of races and that I have the power to adapt to the change of the races," Haedo said. "The races are very different from what I’m accustomed to doing in the USA. But I believe that with this team I’m going to be able to adapt quickly. My brother told me that it’s very organized and it’s a team that cares a lot about the riders. They help the riders to improve and get the best from them."
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
