SO a lot of super strong cycling triathletes, but of all of them, I think Hayden might just have the smarts to compete with the best in the road race. TT is straight forward, he should do ok there, but his size should also help him the road race, vs a guy like Bogen. Just before his accident he did a world class time in his 10k run, so can he now show world class potential in bike racing too??? He has some pretty good pack riding experience from being back in most ITU races, but he does spend a lot of time on the front just making up gaps, or trying for breaks. I read he does a lot of training in his home in Spain with top cyclists, so certainly is no stranger to those abilities and training pack riding..
Good for him and will be fun to see - doing the road race seems risky for a season opener though.
As long as it is hilly he should be fine. There is a sorting on big climbs, and he no doubt will make that split. Then it’s just a lot group TT’ing, where they will probably let the new guy just sit on. But knowing him, he’ll probably want to contribute just to show his strength, instead of hiding it and showing it when it too late for them to react..
Not hilly - Elite Circuit 2026. | 5.8 mi Cycling Route on Strava
suspect it’ll be a staring contest for 18/19 laps and then a move on the up and over
Course looks tailor-made for Corbin Strong. Expect guys like Finn Fischer-Black and Aaron Gate to be up there as well. I can’t imagine a triathlete is going to have the punch to contend there, but we’ll see.
Well that is disappointing, so a true test of tactics, personally and team wise. Good thing about nationals is the team aspect is dampened, and a solo guy like him can do well if he tacks onto the right break, if there is one..
Now the TT is a different story, imagine he may have the best set up of the lot. But if it is also flat, then bigger power riders will do well, but of course smaller guys have proven it is not all about raw power #’s..
I realize some of the best can get in accidents, but it does seem like Hayden has had more than his fair share of bike accidents. Is there some article somewhere that gives him lots of praise on being an amazing bike handler? This is gonna sting, but from the number of “bad luck” crashes he’s in, it’s like the Lionel Sanders of draft legal bike handling. He’s good, but bad luck seems to follow him around.
He even crashed his bike on the way to the Olympic test event the morning of the race?!
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He is up against world tour riders
Finn Fisher-Black is our best TT guy currently.
I’m quite literally backing Hayden as I’ll be driving his follow car. Means I have to lower myself to driving an ICE vehicle though.
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That is so awesome, I was hoping for someone that would be there, but to be following the entire time, it’s pure gold Jerry!!! So we will be expecting updates and first hand accounts here, an ST obligation to the faithful…
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I didn’t take any pics as I was behind the wheel and the content guy was in the car too.
Fourth is pretty amazing. Was 6th at the first time check, so brought it home really well with the 60T chainring in the tailwind.
The guy in second set the NZ hour record on the track in December at 52.784km. The guy in 5th is in the national pursuit squad, they were 3rd at world champs last year. Some of you may recall George Bennet winning the tour of California a few years ago.
We didn’t have a radio, which meant no chance for guidance from the car. Probably could have eked out a few seconds that way. The important thing is that he was in the mix and executed well with good power.
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Looked up his result at the track running 5k event. He ran 14:02 For 5th place. 16 year old phenom sam ruth 13:40
That’s really a great ride from him, just seconds off the podium and close to the top guys that do this for a living.. Always figured he had the power to be a big dog, now lets see if he can parse it out smart enough to do something in the road race..He has a very tactical mind, just has to adapt it to a new venue.
So are you involved in his team for the RR today? Do they even allow follow cars, or perhaps just generic wheel cars? And how about feeds, old school by the road, or some sort of roving feed zone?? Give us the details as soon as possible, this is off season fun!
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So I found these results for the U23 road race and Hayden was the last finisher at #43, 11 minutes behind the winner. Is this the big race, or is there another one to come with all the pro guys and over 23??
It’s the Elite and U23 race, but because he’s U23 then it lists him as U23…
So whilst he was last to complete the course (20 laps) then there were a long list that didn’t ( or didn’t get to) finish. Laps were about 12:30 so he wasn’t far off being lapped/pulled.
Sorry, I didn’t see the race so not sure when or how he got dropped. Looks like the field was pretty splintered with no group of more than half a dozen by the end, so suggests the heat was on for a fairly prolonged period in the last third of the race.
the years are passing you by… he’s 28
My daughters joined him for warm up to the edge of town (then we went along bike paths when he headed out on country roads to race HQ).
He was hanging in the main group well but from lap 15 (of 20) on he was looking like the hill was tough.
That was 4th to last time up the hill, towards the back of the group. Then tailing the group next lap and gone the one after. So cruised the last lap with one other, which is why the gap opened up.
Hanne de Vet handled the bottle handups and went through a lot of water as it was hot and the pace was furious.
There is quite a difference in the ability of cyclists to surge compared to triathletes.
George Bennett went clear of the leading six with 3 laps to go and soloed home. Had been sitting in on the group as Corbin Strong was in the next pack.
Update - he told me that he did a lot of work chasing down attacks in the first 2 hrs to help some friends, so nuked himself. Just out for a good hard day.
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The kids grow up so quickly nowadays 
Remember him anxiously asking if Javier Gomez was racing Tinman one year - he was trying to decide between doing the U18 race or the Elite if he got the chance to go up against Javier. In the end they did both race, Hayden stayed with him on the bike, but then Javier put the hammer down on the run IIRC.
Thanks for the color, wonder who he was working for?? And to be a domestic on the day and still pretty much hang with the peloton, says a lot about his strength. As you can see a whole lot did not hang after doing their work, and likely had no affect on the days outcome like Hayden did.
Would have liked to see him give it a real go for himself though, I guess the hill was enough to really cause separation between the strong guys on the day..
There is a pretty big difference in w/kg to the top cyclists. Which really counts when the finish is up a short, steep hill. And a difference in the power profile over short durations.
Side note, my Felt AR died on that hill in 2016 when a stick jumped into the rear mech and broke the seat stay.
I’m sorry for your loss. I hope revisiting the scene wasn’t too traumatic.
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