Matt Hayman went the extra yard to get to the start line of Paris-Roubaix. And though he was just weeks shy of his 38th birthday, he won Hell of the North; the crowning glory of a long career.
On the day he has announced his plans to retire at the end of the season, let’s reflect on the beauty that was Matt Hayman’s finest hour.
It was two years ago when the man who has worked for almost his entire career as a domestique won Paris-Roubaix.
He’s now 40 years old and riding for Mitchelton-Scott. He has decided to stop after he races the Tour Down Under in January; a fitting send off in front of a home crowd.
The hardy Australian beat off the stiffest of competition in Paris-Roubaix 2016. He took an unlikely victory at the end of a gruelling six hours and 260 kilometres in the saddle.
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It was all the more remarkable given he had broken his right arm just five weeks prior to the race at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. That meant he missed a number of key tune-up races.
But he didn’t let that affect his training and the 1,000 kilometres he reckoned he logged on the turbo is now the stuff of legend.
After winning Paris-Roubaix he joined the world of twitter and shared this picture of himself at his base in Belgium.
"I was embarrassed by this photo. There's a fine line between stupidity and dedication," he said in a message with the photo.
Clearly, the break to his elbow was so bad that it required a solid cast to wrap around the elbow joint. And that meant holding the handlebars in the normal way was impossible.
Instead, he found a step ladder around the house that came in very handy; resting his broken arm on it as he trained.
In many ways the picture defined his career as a pro; a hard working rider fully committed to getting the best from himself.
In his 17th year as a pro and riding his 15th Paris-Roubaix the then 37-year-old had never made the podium before and was tipped by nobody to win.
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But he beat Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) to take the win, saying he felt “disbelief” at his “pretty surreal win”.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Hayman at the time. “I’ve had enough bad luck in Paris-Roubaix in the last fifteen years.
“Everything went right today, I was in a good place mentally, I was relaxed and I was trying not to put pressure on myself.”
“With one kilometre to go I was thinking that I would be happy just to be on the podium.
“I had a feeling that my legs were pretty good and I was happy to ride with Tom (Boonen) until the finish line but then it all came back together for the last lap.”
Hayman turned pro aged 20 years back in 2000, starting with Rabobank. He remained with that squad for 10 years. Four years with Team Sky would follow.
He joined Orica GreenEdge in 2014 and has remained with that team ever since. He will ride his last race on January 20th next.
Hayman's first tweet on joining Twitter
For those asking I have found a spot for my stone. Couldn't be happier. pic.twitter.com/LyBdBJLVZM
— MathewHayman (@Mathew_Hayman) April 15, 2016
His second Tweet was even cooler
I was embarrassed by this photo. There's a fine line between stupidity and dedication. #OGErocks #noshortcuts pic.twitter.com/bZod6p6ed8
— MathewHayman (@Mathew_Hayman) April 16, 2016
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