![\"Hayman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/579699935_B2D5F240-FF8F-11E5-8AA706B2CCB88DF3.jpg\")
Hayman on his aero Scott Foil, a bike that stood out from the bunch as other riders in the Paris-Roubaix choose a more forgiving frame design. Photo by Sirotti<\/p>\nA decade ago this week, Australian cycling produced one of its most unlikely and memorable triumphs, when Mathew Hayman defied the odds to win Paris\u2013Roubaix.<\/p>\n
At 37, and returning from a broken arm just weeks earlier, Hayman outlasted a star-studded field on the brutal cobbles to become only the second Australian to conquer the \u201cHell of the North,\u201d following Stuart O\u2019Grady\u2019s breakthrough victory in 2007.<\/p>\n
In many ways, Hayman\u2019s victory was 16 years in the making. At that point in his career he had ridden Roubaix a remarkable 15 times, a race he described as his favourite on the calendar, and was able to use every hard-earned lesson from those previous attempts to hone his training, race-craft and strategy.<\/p>\n
It was also a win built on resilience as much as strength, and ten years on, it still stands as one of Australian sport\u2019s great underdog stories.<\/p>\n
Hayman on his aero Scott Foil, a bike that stood out from the bunch as other riders in the Paris-Roubaix choose a more forgiving frame design. Photo by Sirotti<\/p>\n
In 2016, the Roubaix covered a gruelling 257km made up of 27 sectors of cobblestones. 198 starters lined up for the 114th event.<\/p>\n
Hayman was far from a favourite in the lead-up. Riding for Orica-BikeExchange, he\u2019d spent the five\u00a0weeks leading up to the race recovering from a broken arm\u00a0after a fall at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad\u2013 even\u00a0training on a stationary bike in his garage to maintain his fitness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors put it in a cast and said it\u2019s gonna be six weeks off the road,\u201d Hayman recalled in 2020<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI looked at my phone and I said: \u2018Ok, that\u2019s one day before Roubaix\u2026\u2019 The team doctor was also there. \u2018That\u2019s not gonna happen\u2019, he basically told me.\u00a0<\/p>\n Undeterred, and desperate to take part in Roubaix knowing he wouldn\u2019t have many chances left, he devised a unique training programme. <\/p>\n With the assistance of Zwift (still relatively new technology at the time) and his coach Kevin Poulton, Hayman worked on double sessions on most days, and up to three or four on specific occasions on the stationary bike. The aim was just to maintain his fitness. <\/p>\n His choice of bike on the day also only added to the legend. While most of the peloton opted for more forgiving endurance setups to survive the bone-rattling cobbles, Hayman went the other way entirely. <\/p>\n His weapon of choice was an aero-optimised Scott Foil, a machine built for speed rather than comfort.<\/p>\n The bike was fitted with electronic Shimano Dura Ace Di2 and Shimano C50 carbon tubular wheels wrapped in 28mm tyres that only just squeezed between the direct-mount Dura Ace rim brakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ll duck into Nat Bromhead\u2019s race recap from 2016 to see how the day played out.<\/p>\n Slippery conditions cause havoc<\/p>\n As often the case, slippery pave wreaked\u00a0havoc for riders throughout the race as the terrain became treacherous, causing mechanicals and crashes all day long. <\/p>\n Though the predicted wet weather did hold off, rain from the previous evening puddled alongside the road adding to the hazardous conditions.<\/p>\n With a little over 50km to go the front group was blown apart with two key crashes both involving Team Sky riders. Favourites Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe were held up \u2013\u00a0Rowe failing to dodge his fallen team mate and being spectacularly launched\u00a0over the bars onto the pavement. <\/p>\n Pre-race favourite Fabian Cancellara and World Champion Peter Sagan were caught in the\u00a0trailing bunch after a series of crashes put them out of contact with the lead group. <\/p>\n Soon after, Cancellara was making the chase but fell heavily on the cobbles, 46km from the finish at the famous Roubaix Velodrome. <\/p>\n Sagan managed to stay on\u00a0his bike, displaying the world-class bike handling skills he was known for.<\/p>\n The final kms<\/p>\n The daylong break eventually whittled down to a final five of the world\u2019s best riders.<\/p>\n Emerging into the velodrome Hayman, not known for his sprinting prowess, was able to time his sprint to perfection, and hold off four-time Paris-Roubaix winner Tom Boonen to cross the line as victor by a solitary bike length.<\/p>\n It would have been a fairytale for Boonen to have won, coming back from injury at the end of his career. <\/p>\n Later, Hayman described the Belgian as incredibly graceful in defeat, telling him on the finish line, \u201cYou deserve it, man.\u201d<\/p>\n On the day though, it was all about the Australian.<\/p>\n \u201cAll that I can remember is coming off that last bend and still being in front and just giving it everything I had and watching that wheel beside me \u2013 and it wasn\u2019t coming\u2026 Just that crossing the line and thinking, \u2018Now I have to throw the hands up. I have to do something,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"pastedGraphic_3.png\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hayman-in-garage.jpg\")
Hayman in his pain cave, pictured in 2021. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/580124872-1600x1063.jpg\")
Image: Sirotti<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/580064171-1600x1063.jpg\")
Five riders entered the velodrome in the race\u2019s final kms: Hayman, Tom Boonen, Ian Stannard, Sep Vanmarcke and Edvald Boasson Hagen. Image: Sirotti<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/580133580-1600x1063.jpg\")
Image: Sirotti<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/580057458-1600x1063.jpg\")
Image: Sirotti<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/580026214-1600x1063.jpg\")
Image: Sirotti<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/580027376-1600x1063.jpg\")
Image: Sirotti<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Matt-hayman4.jpg\")
In November 2016 Hayman was presented with the \u2018Oppy\u2019 \u2013 the prestigious Hubert Opperman medal and trophy.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1774309585-bpfull.jpg\")
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