David and Goliath. Rocky vs Creed. Hayman vs Boonen. The determined underdog, odds stacked against them, is a well-loved trope. But why exactly?
Is looking at the little guy like staring in the mirror? Do you believe the world will, in the face of the insurmountable, bestow some form of fairness? Whichever the reason, the underdog is a valiant hero.
As Mat Hayman spoke to the camera before the 2016 Paris-Roubaix, on the cusp of turning 38 years old, he said: ‘It’ll be my fifteenth attempt at winning.’ Little did he know that after 257km and against multiple obstacles, he would reign victorious, earning a cobblestone to place on his mantlepiece. How did he do it?
A pre-race broken arm
Mathew Hayman
The Australian’s arrival at start line in Compiègne for The Hell of the North marked his return from an ill-timed injury. A crash at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad resulted in a broken arm just six weeks prior to Paris-Roubaix. Hayman trained on the turbo in his garage, propping his cast on a ladder as a makeshift arm rest.
A race littered with crashes
Whether it’s bad luck, unfortunate positioning or a touch of wheels, the arbitrary nature of crashes and the various scale of injuries they inflict, from superficial wounds to a rider’s race ending in seconds, are a part of cycling.
During the 2016 Paris-Roubaix, Hayman’s teammate Mitch Docker suffered a horrendous crash in the Arenberg Forest that almost cost him his left eye. Fabian Cancellara, three-time winner of the Classic, had his swansong Roubaix cut short after an abundance of crashes left him out of contention.
A decisive split eventually emerged amidst the chaos; the five-man leading group comprising Hayman, four-time Paris-Roubaix winner Tom Boonen, Norwegian national champion Edvald Boasson Hagen, Ian Stannard and Sep Vanmarcke. Hayman was dropped on the Carrefour de l’Arbre yet, with the dogged determination of a man unhinged, forced his way back to the contenders. This was the group who would battle it out for Paris-Roubaix victory.
A finish for the ages
Weary riders continued to attack one another. As the kilometres ticked down to two, only Hayman could follow Boonen into the gladiator’s arena for one last battle. But his final competitor standing in the way of glory was none other than a goliath, the Philistine giant already boasting four Paris-Roubaix wins. As TV viewers heard: ‘Hayman has won 2 professional races; Boonen has won 109. The odds are stacked against the Australian.’
The duo swung into the velodrome for a game of cat-and-mouse as Vanmarcke worked his way back onto Hayman’s wheel. Stannard and Boassen Hagen caught up. The odds were stacking up against him once more, but Hayman was relentless, adrenaline-filled with the finish line in sight. He worked his way in front of his heavyweight competitors. 200m… 100m… 50m…
ASO/Beardy McBeard
This was Mathew Hayman’s year. As he crossed the line and met soigneur and videographer Dan Jones, his face was an assortment of emotions. Shock, disbelief, relief and eventually jubilation. The entertaining nature of this win, combined with the sheer likeability of the winner wrapped the 2016 Paris-Roubaix in a neat underdog story bow, certifying itself as one for the books. A historic edition.
Hayman and Durbridge hug after the 2016 Paris-RoubaixASO/E.Garnier
‘This doesn’t happen… it doesn’t happen.’ Hayman told Durbridge in disbelief as they celebrated.
‘It does to you,’ Durbridge replied, before saying, ‘that’s one for the good guys.’
Tags: ClassicsParis-Roubaix
