It's been something of a roller coaster season for Ethan Hayter in his first year at Soudal-QuickStep, but the versatile British racer is hoping that, despite not feeling in top condition right now, he'll be able to hit another purple patch of success in his very probable participation in the upcoming Vuelta a España.
Having signed for Soudal in 2025, Hayter went into the Giro d'Italia with more than half an eye on the two time trials, one of his key specialties.
However, while stomach problems all but wrecked the first week of his Giro debut, he nonetheless battled his way to a ninth place in the Tirana TT. Taking a much more promising third in the Giro's second time trial in Tuscany on stage 10 then showed he was on rising form, again, and a subsequent victory in the Baloise Belgium Tour time trial ahead of top favourite Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was an even bigger step back in the right direction.
Post Belgium, Hayter went from strength to strength and claimed the British National TT title for a third time in five years, and he's now racing in Poland, which he won overall back in 2022, before almost certainly tackling his second Grand Tour of the season.
However, as he told Cyclingnews before stage 5, he's not feeling in particularly great shape, so the idea is to get through the rest of the race before heading onto Turin, Italy, for the Vuelta's Grand Depart on August 23.
"I'm not great here, to be honest, compared to what I expected," he said, "but I'm working through it. I'm not quite feeling myself, a bit slow and heavy.
"It's a bit of a shame, I wanted to stay a bit closer to GC and see what I could do there, maybe."
"But it's been five weeks since my last race, so hopefully I'll be getting better as time goes on."
Sunday's 12.5-kilometre TT, where he'll make his debut in the National Champion's jersey, is his kind of distance, he says, and he's there in the mix in most of his time trials this year, so on paper he should have a chance. However, his current condition means he's not overly sure of what, realistically, his possibilities are.
Looking at the Vuelta a España, Hayter will certainly be looking for a happier outcome than in 2022, where he was one of the many riders who contracted COVID-19 and which forced him to abandon just before the race's one TT that year, at Alicante.
"I think I'm doing it," he told Cyclingews, "although until you're on the plane, you never know for sure.
"I only did that one Grand Tour with Ineos" - his only previous team - "so two is going to be a bit of an unknown, but I came out of the Giro quite good.
"I did OK in Belgium and Nationals, so I want to get back to how I was there, feeling sharper in the races.
"Hopefully, I can improve there [in the Vuelta]. There's a bit of unfinished business there for sure."
