Hayden Roulston

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Hayden Roulston


fullname = Hayden Roulston
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|df=yes|1981|1|10
country = NZL
height =
weight =
currentteam =
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype =
amateurteams =
amateuryears =
proyears = 2002–2004
2005
2006
2009
proteams = Cofidis
Discovery Channel
Health Net
Cervelo TestTeam
majorwins =
updated = 3 February 2008

Hayden Roulston (born 10 January 1981 in Ashburton) is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist. He won the silver medal in the men's 4000m individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the men's 4000m team pursuit at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Roulston was a supremely 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 team Cofidis in 2002 where he remained for two seasons before moving to Discovery 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 team HealthNet and began strongly with two top ten stage finishes in the Tour 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.cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4632466a6444.html|title=Olympics: Hayden Roulston lone rider|author=|publisher=Sunday Star Times|date=2008-07-27|accessdate=2008-08-15]

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 back Tour of Southland and Tour of Wellington titles in 2006 & 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 was selected for the New Zealand team to compete at the 2008 World Track Championships in Manchester where he narrowly missed medals in the 4000m Individual Pursuit (4th) and Team Pursuit (4th) as well as finishing 9th in the Madison with Greg 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 complimentary pursuit events in much the same fashion as Kiwi pursuit rider Sarah Ulmer. Fact|date=April 2008 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 4000m Individual Pursuit.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Roulston won the silver medal in the 4000m individual pursuit, defeated in the gold medal race by Briton, Bradley Wiggins. He also featured as a member of the Bronze medal winning New Zealand team pursuit team, although he did not race in the qualifying rounds. [ [http://www.olympic.org.nz/Athletes/AthleteProfile.aspx?Print=&ContactID=2070&id=3774] Athlete profile on the website of the New Zealand Olympic Committee] He came 10th in the Madison with his team mate Greg Henderson [http://www.nzoc.org.nz/Article.aspx?Id=7170] .

In September 2008, Roulston announced that he would be riding for Cervelo TestTeam in 2009, with riders including reigning Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre and multiple Tour de France stage winner Thor Hushovd.

Career highlights

;2002: goca Team Pursuit, Sydney (with Henderson/Randall/Vertongen): goca Madison, Sydney (with Gregory Henderson): 2nd, Overall, Tour of Wellington:: Winner, Stage 2: sica Pursuit, Sydney: brca Commonwealth Games, Team Pursuit (with Henderson/Randall/Vertongen);2003: 1st, Stage 7, Tour de Pologne: sica World Madison Championship (with Gregory Henderson): 2nd, Overall, Tour de Vineyards:: Winner Stages 2 & 3;2004: 1st, Stage 1, Tour de Wallonie: 1st, Stage 3, Tour of Southland: 2nd, Tour du Doubs: 3rd, National Road Race Championship;2006: NZL Road Race Champion: NZL Pursuit Champion: NZL Team Pursuit Champion (with Ryan/Blackgrove/Fairweather): 1st, Overall, Tour of Wellington:: Winner Stages 3, 5 & 6: 1st, Overall, Tour of Southland:: Winner Stage 1: 1st, Overall, Tour de Vineyards:: Winner Stages 1, 2 & 3: 1st, Stage 2, McLane Pacific Classic: sica Commonwealth Games, Points race: 2nd, National Points Race Championship: 2nd, National Criterium Championship;2007: goca Oceania Madison Cycling Champion (with Gregory Henderson): goca Oceania Road Race Cycling Champion: 1st, Overall, Tour of Wellington:: Winner Stages 1, 4 & 6: 1st, Overall, Tour of Southland: 1st, Pegasus Subway Classic;2008: 1st, Stages 4 & 6, Tour of Wellington: 3rd, Overall, Tour de Vineyards:: Winner Stages 2 & 3: sica Olympic Games, 4000m men's individual pursuit - Silver Medal: brca Olympic Games, Team pursuit - Bronze Medal

References

External links

* [http://www.cyclingnews.com/track.php?id=riders/2003/interviews/haydenroulston03 Cyclingnews.com interview]
*