Ron Hayman (born August 31, 1954) was one of the first Canadian cyclists to turn professional in the late 1970s, inspiring those following like fellow Canadian

Alex Stieda Alexander Nicholas Ernst Stieda (born 13 April 1961) is a former professional road bicycle racer from Canada. Stieda led five classifications of the Tour de France on the second day of the 1986 Tour de France: the general classification, the mou ...

. Hayman later became a Canadian cycling coach and entrepreneur, and was runner-up on the list of the 10 most important Canadian cyclists of the twentieth century. Hayman competed on the Canadian Olympic cycling team in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in the pursuit and again in

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

in the

team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

. He was seven times Canadian national champion on the road and track. In 1979, still an amateur on an English team 'London Australia' (

Archer Road Club The Archer Road Club is a cycling club in London, England. The club has produced national, UCI Track World Championships, world and Olympic Games, Olympic champions. Formation and early history Archer Road Club was founded in 1926 as a breakawa ...

), he won the 1979

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland ( Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. T ...

. Phil Anderson,

Stephen Roche Stephen Roche (; born 28 November 1959) is an Irish former professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming the second of only three cyclists to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de ...

and

Robert Millar Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist. York, who competed when known as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists. York won the "King of ...

finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th behind Hayman, and all subsequently became successful professionals. Hayman was ranked top amateur in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(1979). He raced as a professional from 1979 through 1988. His best-known team, of which he was one of seven founding members, was the Schwinn

7-Eleven Cycling Team The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional cycling team founded in the U.S. in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist. The team lasted 16 years, under the sponsorship of 7-Eleven through 1990 and t ...

that also featured

Eric Heiden Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at th ...

Davis Phinney Davis Phinney (born July 10, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He won 328 races in the 1980s and 1990s, a record for an American, including two Tour de France stages. He has worked in media since retiring ...

and later

. Hayman won the $71,000 pro-am Great Mohawk Bicycle Race in 1981, the richest purse for a professional race in North America at the time, a stage win and second at the Redlands Bicycle Classic in 1985. He also won three straight Gastown Grand Prix (1981,1982,1983), a criterium race in Vancouver, won by riders like Stieda (1980), Chris Carmichael (1985) and

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

(1991). In 1980, Hayman won the

Coors Classic The Coors International Bicycle Classic (1980–1988) was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor; the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in ...

--for many years, the largest stage race in North America. Hayman's most dramatic win was his sprint victory over the Italian sprinter, Silvestro Milani of Bottecchia, in Washington D.C in the final stage of the 1983 Tour of America, the only stage not won by a European. Hayman was 7-11 team captain. Later that summer, Davis Phinney narrowly beat

Steve Bauer Steven Todd Bauer, MSM (born June 12, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from Canada. He won the first Olympic medal in road cycling for Canada and until 2022 he was the only Canadian to win an individual stage of the Tour de Fr ...

at the USPRO criterium championship racing against European professional teams. These wins foreshadowed the end of the European dominance of professional cycle racing.VeloNews , Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: The “premature” Tour of America, and a Phinney first , The Journal of Competitive Cycling
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References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060205055722/http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/9452.0.html Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: The boys from 7-Eleven and the debut of American pro road racing* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayman, Ron 1954 births Living people Canadian male cyclists Cyclists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Cyclists from Montreal Olympic cyclists for Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen