When Mat Hayman crashed at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad suffering a fractured radius, it appeared the 2016 classics campaign was over before it even begun for the 37-year-old. A low key return to racing in Spain last week at the GP Miguel Indurain and then the Vuelta Ciclista a La Rioja, helping Michael Matthews to the win, suggested that the Orica-GreenEdge rider could be right for Paris-Roubaix but unlikely to challenge for victory.
When Hayman infiltrated the breakaway after a fast and furious start to the race with teammate Magnus Cort for company, there was little to suggest he would be the most dangerous of the 13-riders. However with 15th Paris-Roubaix's under his belt, Hayman used his experience and guile to pull of a win for the underdogs that simultaneously raised the heart rate of team manager Shayne Bannan to over 180 inside the Roubaix velodrome.
"You could certainly term it that way but you have to look at the character of the guys that really do it for us like Gerro [Simon Gerrans] who has won the two monuments for us," Bannan responded to Cyclingnews when asked if it was a win for the underdog. "Now Maty Hayman, who is just so professional about how he goes about his business. He has a real passion for this race, he lives it, he dreams it so every time he starts Paris-Roubaix he's giving himself a chance."
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking post-race, Bannan added that Hayman missing the classics could well be seen as a blessing in disguise as it allowed him to solely focus on his favourite race of the season.
"Today was just his day, he was in the early break, he conserved and I think probably another factor was that he's had that hairline fracture of the elbow about four-five weeks ago," Bannan explained of Hayman whose last European win came at Paris-Bourges in 2011. "So maybe coming here still prepared, maybe even more prepared, more motivated but without the extra stress of expectation because there wasn't a lot of expectation and we just saw an incredible ride. My heart is still racing over 180 I reckon."
Orica-GreenEdge had cracked the top-ten at Paris-Roubaix on just one previous occasion, sixth place with Jens Keukeleire in 2015, but having observed Hayman prior to the start of the race and during the racing, Bannan explained that it appeared luck was on the Canberrans side.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1qi4T8I
No comments:
Post a Comment