Back when magazines were a sustainable business model, the now-defunct Cycle Sport ran a series of features entitled 'Introducing', in which they would highlight up-and-comers who had burst onto the scene. One month it could be Santiago Blanco, the next, Danny Pate, Angel Casero, Chris Jenner, and so on.
In one edition - April 2001 to be precise - it was the turn of Mathew Hayman.
The previous season had seen the Australian turn professional with Rabobank after three years with their development team, and in those days, early spring Spanish stage races were virtually tripping over each other on the UCI calendar. The 21-year-old impressed and duly made it into the 'Introducing' hall of fame by virtue of a 180-kilometre solo break, stage victory and GC title at the Mallorca Challenge.
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I haven’t seen the copy of the magazine for years. It’s stored away in a cabinet, either at home, the Cyclingnews office, or at the home of my unappreciative parents, who for some unfathomable reason don’t see the value in hoarding magazines from 20 years ago. Regardless, what’s memorable from the double-page spread was the image that accompanied the piece. On the left-hand side of the fold sat the interview, conducted by Alasdair Fotheringham, while the entire right side was devoted to a picture of Hayman during what was presumably his stage-long break in Spain. Back in those days, there was no social media and no television coverage of such niche races. This was a genuine introduction.
Twenty years later and the article and accompanying image are still vivid in my mind. It’s funny how we can remember almost every facet and every detail from when we first fall in love with cycling, yet still struggle to name the last winner of this spring Monument or that Grand Tour. I can even remember that Cycle Sport wrote that Hayman’s resting heart rate was 38 beats per minute, and that his ideal holiday location was Canberra – somewhat amusing given that he was born just a few hours away in Camperdown.
However, the image I’ll remember now, as Hayman hangs up his wheels, is of the Australian taking one last pull on the front of the peloton on stage 6 at the 2019 Tour Down Under and then quietly, and without fuss, slipping back through the wheels as the battle for GC leaves him behind. There’s no fanfare, no fancy show, just a 40-year-old pro dropping back as riders from his generation and those that followed offer a pat on the back and a few words. It’s almost like watching the sands of time themselves slip away. It’s quiet, it’s dignified. It’s so Hayman.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mat-hayman-id-do-it-all-again
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