Pre-Worlds Interview: Rob Hayles
March 24, 2007
by Larry Hickmott (larryhickmott@britishcycling.org.uk)
A former double world champion, Rob Hayles is not only one of the senior members of the team but also one of the most successful with two medals at the last Olympics in the Team Pursuit and Madison and World titles in the same events in 2005 at the Los Angeles World Track Championships.
After Gold and Silver at the Manchester World Track Cup and looking good in training pre-worlds, the wise cracking showman had a scare during the World Championship training camp when he found he had no gas left in the tank during training.
Right: Rob during the final training efforts before leaving for Majorca.
“It was cracking me” he said of the unexplained loss of form. “I don’t think I have missed a session in six months and then was not on the ball at the World Cup. It turned out I had an infection and had a tooth out after the World Cup and then the Majorca training camp went really well. I was flying. When we returned, I was then back on the track and for two days felt really good and then for two days there was nothing there.”
“It was like sh#t and it was really cracking me. So I got away for a couple of days, put my feet up over the weekend, changed my bar tape for a bit of morale and hopefully it has paid off.”
A week on, and he said on the Thursday before the Team was due to fly out, “I felt alright today and knew today was the day. We had an easier day yesterday and Tuesday went pretty well too and personally, I don’t feel I could have done any more to get selection. I did what was asked.”
The selection he is referring to is the Team Pursuit. “Everybody wants to be in the Team Pursuit obviously, that is what the last six months has been about. If I don’t ride that, then I do have the Individual and the Madison”.
Although perhaps more known for his great rides in the Madison where even the odd fall hasn’t stopped him winning a World title or an Olympic medal, it is the Individual Pursuit where Rob has also gone close to being the proud owner of a rainbow jersey for that event. And it is the one event he has targeted that he hasn’t won, yet.
“The Individual is one of my goals, one of three. That is the plan for Beijing but it depends a lot on the Team Pursuit because selection for that event is a bit different nowadays with so many guys going for it. So I need to play that one by ear but I still have two events including the Individual”.
“The Individual has always been there and I didn’t do it in Bordeaux (2006 Worlds) because my form wasn’t there. Not winning the Commonwealth Games was a disappointment which was part of the reason for not riding Bordeaux.”
For the Worlds this year though, he says “If I get selected for the Team, I’ll pull out of the Individual but the Olympics is a different thing because I have been fourth twice and even to get Bronze would be fantastic. Although I know we (Team GB) are looking at wins or nothing on this programme, for the Olympics I’d like to argue the case that any medal is worth targeting as it’s an Olympic medal.”
“The Worlds is different nowadays where it’s the jersey or nothing. I know I am capable of doing what Brad did at the World Cup here, an 18 is where I should be at.” Rob though knows that even an 18 isn’t going to be enough if Bradley Wiggins is on form saying “we know that wasn’t Brads best ride at the Manchester World Cup and he can go quicker.”
The Madison will again though be a goal too. He won the Worlds with Mark Cavendish in 2005, was a silver medal winner with Geraint Thomas at the Manchester World Track Cup and is teaming up with Bradley again for Palma making them one of the automatic favourites. Rob has a huge wealth of experience as does Bradley and the two are certainly not just going in there for the ride.
Rob said the Madison training session at Manchester on Tuesday, their first Madison work since Athens, went well. “As we’re sharing a room, I had a chat with him last night about gears, tactics and so on. The team has a lot of data on us from the World Cups and Worlds and we’re looking at that in as much detail as we do for the Pursuit events rather than going into the event blind which has been our problem in the past.”
“We just need some structure for the Madison because otherwise we just tend to go on feel.
Rob will be competing in Majorca in front of his wife and daughter as well as many other family members who will be there cheering him on. The fact he is going to be on the plane, means he is a very relieved rider saying that “I was thinking when I was sick, I’m not going to go at this rate and everyone has booked flights and so on”. Rob is however on the plane to Majorca and we wish him lots of luck at the World Championships.
