.jpg) Roulston in 2020 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hayden Roulston |
| Born | (1981-01-10)10 January 1981 (age 45) Ashburton, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road and track |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Classics specialist |
| Professional teams | |
| 2002–2004 | Cofidis |
| 2005 | Discovery Channel |
| 2006 | Health Net–Maxxis |
| 2009 | Cervélo TestTeam |
| 2010–2011 | Team HTC–Columbia |
| 2012–2015 | RadioShack–Nissan[1] |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Hayden RoulstonMNZM (born 10 January 1981) is a New Zealand former professionalracing cyclist.[2] He won the silver medal in the men's 4000 m individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the men's 4000 m team pursuit at the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[3] He won the New Zealand road cycling championships on four occasions (2006, 2011, 2013, 2014), the Tour of Southland on three occasions (2006, 2007, 2008) and came tenth in the 2010 edition ofParis - Roubaix.
Roulston was a talented junior rider on both road and track and competed for New Zealand on the track and initially on the road for a club team in France. He turned professional with the French teamCofidis in 2002 where he remained for two seasons before moving toDiscovery Channel for 2005. His season with Discovery Channel featured some impressive rides but was interrupted by injury and eventually ended when he resigned after an incident in a Christchurch bar. He attempted to relaunch his professional road career in the US when he signed for Continental Pro teamHealth Net–Maxxis and began strongly with two top ten stage finishes in theTour of California beating many big name ProTour regulars. Unfortunately for Roulston his first year at HealthNet ended when a medical examination revealed irregular heart activity and he was advised to stop riding immediately.[4]
Back home in New Zealand he experimented with some alternative remedies and was soon back riding – and winning. Without a contract but still motivated to ride he won the National Road Race title in 2006 and back to backTour of Southland andTour of Wellington titles in 2006 and 2007. In addition to the road races he returned to the track and won several titles at the New Zealand and Oceania track championships.
Roulston had invested a six-figure sum with a New Zealand company that failed due to the2008 financial crisis. Roulston confided inCraig Adair, a track cycling gold medallist at the1982 Commonwealth Games, that he was about to pull out of the preparations for the2008 Summer Olympics, but Adair and four of his friends decided to provide finance for him during this difficult time, and Roulston continued with his preparations.[5]
Roulston was selected for the New Zealand team to compete at the2008 World Track Championships in Manchester where he narrowly missed medals in the 4000 m individual pursuit (4th) and Team Pursuit (4th) as well as finishing 9th in the Madison withGreg Henderson. Having performed so strongly in Manchester, he was selected for the Beijing Olympics, where he focused on improving his 4th placed pursuit rides. Former New Zealand track coach Ron Cheatley suggested his best bet will be to drop the Madison and focus on the complementary pursuit events in much the same fashion as Kiwi pursuit riderSarah Ulmer.[citation needed] Ulmer quit road racing and focused solely on her pursuit preparation before the 2004 Athens Olympics where she went on to smash the world record and take the gold medal in the women's 3000 m individual pursuit.
At the2008 Beijing Olympics, Roulston won the silver medal in the4000 m individual pursuit, defeated in the gold medal race byBradley Wiggins. He also featured as a member of the bronze medal-winning New Zealandteam pursuit squad, although he did not race in the qualifying rounds.[6] He came 10th in the Madison with his teammateGreg Henderson.[7]
In September 2008, Roulston announced that he would be riding forCervélo TestTeam in 2009, with riders including reigningTour de France championCarlos Sastre and multiple Tour de France stage winnerThor Hushovd.
In the2009 Tour of California, Roulston began a perfectly executed lead out to allow team sprinter Thor Hushovd to win Stage 3.[8] In stage 7 Roulston almost won the stage himself after breaking free from a ten-man breakaway that includedFränk Schleck,George Hincapie andChristian Vande Velde. Roulston was 2nd after a photo finish withRinaldo Nocentini.[9] Roulston finished 35th overall.
Roulston came fourth in the 194 km2010 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne race. In the cold and windy conditions, RoulstonThor Hushovd andJeremy Hunt chased a three man breakaway which led to Roulston finishing one minute behind the winnerBobbie Traksel.[10][11]
In April 2010, Hayden Roulston came 10th in the 259 kilometreParis-Roubaix race. He finished almost seven minutes behind the winnerFabian Cancellara. The Paris - Roubaix is one of the five "monuments" or most important races of the cycling season.[12]
Roulston came second in theMen's road race at the2010 Commonwealth Games, winning the silver medal. Roulston was sick leading up to the race. The 168 km race was run in very hot conditions in Delhi. He said of the race "The whole plan today was to make the race hard. We had no choice, we've got no sprinter and the world's fastest sprinters are here so for us to execute it like we did, I think the boys should be really proud".[13]
In December 2010, Hayden Rouston won the 80 kilometre Festival of Cycling in Christchurch.[14] Hayden Roulston spent his last few seasons riding as a key domestique for Fabian Cancellara atTrek Factory Racing.[15][16][17][18]
In October 2015 Roulston announced his retirement from road racing, having previously revealed that he would make a return to the track with a view to competing in the team pursuit at the2016 Summer Olympics.[19]
Hayden Roulston competed in March 2016 in Le Race with the intent of obtaining a "good, intensive training ride".[20] He won the 100 kilometre race fromCathedral Square in Christchurch toAkaroa dominating in the cross winds and forcing the pace on the climb to Hilltop. He said of the win "I haven't won for a long time so it's always nice to get the result. I wanted a hard day out and I definitely got that."[21]
Team pursuit,Commonwealth Games
Madison (withGreg Henderson),UCI Track World Championships
Road race, National Road Championships Individual pursuit Team pursuit
OverallTour of Wellington OverallTour de Vineyards OverallTour of SouthlandPoints race,Commonwealth Games
Road race,Oceania Road Championships Madison, Oceania Track Championships OverallTour of Wellington OverallTour of Southland Overall Tour desDeux Sevres OverallTour of Southland OverallTour of SouthlandRoad race,Commonwealth GamesRoad race, National Road Championships
