Mathew Hayman

Mathew Hayman (born 20 April 1978) is an Australian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2019 for the Rabobank, Team Sky and Mitchelton–Scott teams. During his career, Hayman was an experienced and respected domestique, as he typically took on a supporting role within his team. Hayman was also a specialist in the cobbled classics, and was the winner of Paris–Roubaix in 2016. Following his retirement from racing after the 2019 Tour Down Under, Hayman remained with the Mitchelton–Scott team as a part-time directeur sportif alongside a "special projects" position.

Personal life

Hayman was born in western Sydney, but the family was living near Goulburn in country New South Wales when he became interested in cycling, largely due to his older brother. He started racing in Canberra, and, following his brother, moved to Europe to further a potential cycling career in 1997. He raced as an amateur with Rabobank's under-23 team, based in The Netherlands. In 2006 he married Kym Shirley, an Australian professional cyclist. The couple has a son, born in 2011, and twins born in 2017.

Career

Hayman turned professional in 2000 with Rabobank, after three years racing as an amateur in Europe. He completed his first Paris–Roubaix the same year. He stayed with Rabobank for ten years, achieving a number of good results during that time. Hayman has refused to discuss Dr Geert Leinders when asked about his time at Rabobank. Riding for Australia in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as a domestique in support of Allan Davis, it was Hayman who came away with the gold medal in the road race.