England’s Ethan Hayter will get another chance to bolster his burgeoning reputation at the Commonwealth Games this week.
The 19-year-old was compared to Sir Bradley Wiggins by team-mate Ed Clancy after a star turn in helping Great Britain win the team pursuit at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn at the start of last month.
It is a comparison the Londoner is keen to downplay, but speaks to his enormous potential.
“I don’t know if that was a bit in the heat of the moment,” Hayter said of Clancy’s comments.
“I did a good ride and obviously I feel like I am capable of doing well in the future but I don’t know how far you can compare us without putting pressure on myself.
“I think it was funny, is how I’ll put it. But I don’t want to keep being compared to him. I’d rather be myself.”
That said, Hayter admits receiving such praise from a three-time Olympic champion meant a huge amount to him – almost as much as the gold medal around his neck.
“Even though you’ve just won the worlds, it was actually more of a confidence boost,” he said.
Hayter will test himself in the team pursuit, individual pursuit, points race and scratch race in Brisbane once racing gets under way on Thursday, having also been named as a reserve for next week’s road race on the Gold Coast.
Ethan Hayter (2nd l) has been compared to Bradley Wiggins.
Britain enjoyed a successful World Championships in Apeldoorn, in the Netherlands, picking up six medals in all, but were helped by the fact Australia were largely absent – their focus firmly on being ready to shine on home soil in this event.
“I think obviously they’ll come here really strong,” Hayter said. “They’ll hit it really hard whereas for us our focus remains on the Olympic cycle.
“The worlds was a big stage for us. We’re going well now but not as good as at the worlds, and obviously not as well as whoever the team will be at the Olympics. We’re doing quick times though, so we’ll have a good chance to beat them.”
Another rider who impressed greatly in Apeldoorn was Emily Nelson, who took silver as part of the team pursuit squad before winning gold alongside Katie Archibald in the Madison as a late replacement for Elinor Barker.
At the Commonwealth Games, Scotland’s Archibald and Wales’ Barker go from team-mates to rivals – a change Nelson finds refreshing.
Emily Nelson (r) with Katie Archibald after winning the women’s madison at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
“There’s eight of us from Britain who are really strong, but here you have Katie and Elinor, both Olympic champions, racing for different nations as well as the England girls, and Neah Evans from Scotland making up a really strong field,” the 21-year-old said. “The dynamics of the racing will be really interesting.”
Laura Kenny was part of the Britain squad that took team pursuit silver in Apeldoorn – racing just six months after giving birth – but she will not compete here as others get their chance.
“For the team pursuit, although the Britain squad is split up the four in the England squad are really strong so it’s nice to see different faces in the squad as well,” Nelson said. “They get a chance to show what they can do.”
