Ethan Hayter confident of stage wins in Vuelta a España that is 'more relaxed than other races'

The Briton is making his Grand Tour debut but has yet to threaten in any stages

Ethan Hayter
(Image credit: Getty)

Ethan Hayter heads into the middle week of the Vuelta a España optimistic of winning his first stage in a Grand Tour.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider is making his debut in a three-week race just weeks after winning the Tour of Poland, his first GC triumph in a WorldTour race.

Throughout the past three seasons the Londoner, who turns 24 on September 18, has belied his younger years, picking up 16 professional wins and emerging as a major rival to the likes of Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Julian Alaphilippe on punchy courses, as well as holding his own in sprints and time trials.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Hayter described his first experience of a Grand Tour. "It's been good so far. Compared to other races, like Paris-Nice or the [Critérium du] Dauphiné, it's probably more relaxed, although it's fast when you're sat behind the motorbike.

"There's been a couple of stages that could have gone differently, but it's been good helping out the GC guys and staying out of trouble."

His Ineos team have multiple options in play at the race, targeting high GC placings for Tao Geoghegan Hart, Pavel Sivakov, Carlos Rodríguez and Richard Carapaz, while also wanting to give chances to Hayter to win stages.

Stage 10 is a 31km time trial in Alicante, but the pan-flat course means that while Hayter will go well, he doesn't back himself for victory.

"I prefer a more technical, up-and-down course," he said. "One where you have to go hard over the climbs and recover on the descents.

"But generally I've been on the podiums in almost all of the time trials I've done, so I better have a go! It'd be rude not to, wouldn't it?"

There are two punchy stages in the coming week that also lend themselves to Hayter's characteristics. He added: "I had quite a bad day on stage six - for some reason I just didn't feel great. But I've felt a lot better in the last few days so hopefully that's a good sign.

"It depends what the route is, but there's always opportunities. If it's a summit finish then it will have to come from a breakaway as I'm not going to beat the GC guys on a climb. But we'll see how the race plays out - I'll definitely have a go at the TT."

Hayter also reserved praise for his longtime friend and fellow VC Londres member Fred Wright who has came close to winning two stages. "Maybe it's playing on his mind a bit [the pressure to win] but I don't think he's doing anything bad," Hayter said. "What he's doing is amazing."

Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Chris Marshall-Bell

Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.


Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.