Chad Haga returns this season as one of the favorites to win the elite men's time trial at the USA Cycling Pro Road Championships. This time around, he returns in the bold orange colors of the U.S.-based company that launched his pro career in 2012, Human Powered Health.

During his time with Team Sunweb, Haga won two silver medals in the U.S. National Championship Time Trial held on a 30+km flat course along Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. in 2018, where he was timed by Joey Roskoff (then with BMC Racing) He spent most of a hot Southern day in the hot seat until 2021, when his time was overtaken by Lawson Craddock (EF Education Easy Post) by just 18 seconds.

He returns to his old team this time around, conditioning in the scorching, humid conditions of the southeastern United States, where temperatures are expected to soar to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) on Thursday.

"I've put in a lot of time this year, especially on the hot and long TTs, so hopefully it will pay off here. Last week's Tour de Suisse TT went well and was good practice for tomorrow in terms of course type, time and weather.

The Texan was part of the ProTeam selection team at last week's Tour de Suisse, and in the 25.6km time trial to conclude the eight-day stage race, Haga was 1:25 behind winner Remco Evenpole (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl) and second place Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in 12th place, 1:22 behind the winner.

The race in Switzerland took place in very hot conditions, similar to those the U.S. contingent will face in Tennessee at the U.S. National Championships.

"We are prepared for a hot and hard race. Several of us raced in similar conditions in Switzerland last week.

The time trial specialist has performed well at the World Tour level, winning the final stage of the 2019 Giro d'Italia against the clock and finishing seventh in the Giro finale in Milan the following year. He told Cyclingnews that his return from Team DSM to the Pro Series-level Circuit Sport organization was the right team at the right time in his career.

"I was looking for a racing program that would give me a little less time away from home and more opportunity to rediscover the racing that made me fall in love with racing. I had a lot of friends on the team and enjoyed my time off more. My return to the team was very smooth, as I was already familiar with it. I've grown since the last time I was here, but culturally it still feels the same."

Ben King, formerly with Kelly Benefit Strategies, is now with Human Powered Health. He won a national road race title with the Trek-sponsored Continental team in 2010 before Haga turned pro. The two will be in a fierce battle with defending champion Lawson Craddock in the time trial.

"I learned early on how tenacious and strong Ben is because I had to chase him many times for my team's finish. He's always optimistic, he gives his best and I don't have to chase him.

"As for myself, I am enjoying this new phase of my career and my family is enjoying life in Girona.

"I haven't finalized my schedule for all the races yet, but wherever I end up, I want to get the final result. This spring, just as I was starting to get better, I was hit with gastroenteritis. Personally, I want to enjoy everything as much as possible: family life, racing, and just riding my bike. 0]

Team Performance Director Jonas Kearney spoke about the difficult road Haga experienced leading up to the All-Japan Championship.

"Chad had a tough start to the season with several setbacks early in the season. He has worked hard to recover to this level and has a good chance of winning on Thursday," Jonas Kearney, performance director at Human Powered Health, told Cycling News.

Kearney and his staff have a much smaller team in Knoxville than last year, as injuries and illnesses have reduced the roster. The most notable absence is road race national champion Joey Rothkopf, who is recovering from COVID-19, which forced him to miss the Tour de Suisse. Knoxville native Steven Bassett, who finished second in the 2019 road race and had a strong year, is out indefinitely after encountering a deer on a fast downhill training ride and suffering a broken collarbone, cracked ribs, and was assessed with "about half the skin on his body misplaced."

Haga's teammate Gage Hecht was considered a wild card in the time trial and road race. Hecht was the time trial champion as a junior in 2016 and in the U23 category in 2018. In the last two elite men's TTs in Knoxville, he was 8th in 2019 and 2021, and 9th in last year's road race.

The team has also decided not to compete in this weekend's criterium, and Robin Carpenter, who finished fourth in last weekend's Harlem Skyscraper Criterium, will focus on the road race with Nate Brown.

Haga said the team is a little smaller but ready to fight. . "But we have a good group of riders on the starting lineup.