In a sport obsessed with the mantra “lighter is faster,” 23-year-old esports cyclist Hayden Pucker is challenging that belief, from his small hometown of Rosendale, Wisconsin, all the way to the global stage in Abu Dhabi.
At 185 cm (6’1”) tall and weighing 87 kg (192 lbs), Pucker knows he’s not built like a typical, featherweight cyclist. But instead of seeing his build as a disadvantage, he’s turned it into a weapon, powering his way through virtual pelotons at the highest levels of competition.
A former nationally ranked Taekwondo athlete, Pucker’s path to cycling has been anything but conventional. After years of martial arts, running and weightlifting, he discovered the emerging world of esports cycling in late 2021, and never looked back.
From the dojo to the Turbo trainer
(Image credit: Images supplied by Hayden Pucker)
Pucker has always been an athlete, spending much of his youth defending his spot among America’s top-ranked junior Taekwondo competitors.
“In 2018, I spent a year travelling across the country trying to earn enough points to make the U.S. World Championship team,” Pucker recalls. “I even did online school for two years so I could keep competing.”
But after years of relentless travel, strict dieting, and the pressure to ‘make weight,’ the grind began to take its toll and Tucker burned out.
“My love for the sport faded away,” he says.
But Pucker wasn’t one to sit idle. He needed to remain active and could soon be found running upwards of 16 miles a day alongside lifting weights.
But as anyone who has upped their running mileage too quickly has likely found, this is a fast recipe for injury, and that is exactly what sidelined Pucker from continuing to pursue running.
Thus, the stage was set for Pucker to discover the sport that captivates him today: cycling.
“I had a bike that I used to ride to school, which was a 10-mile trip one way for me, and I rode to school for fun a lot,” Pucker says. “When I became injured from running in 2021, I told my mom that we should go for a bike ride. Our first ride together was 50 miles.”
With a smile, Pucker adds, “[My mom] is also a little insane.”
Physical challenges must be a family trait, then, as the following weekend, the duo tackled 100 miles, with Pucker donning sneakers, standard athletic shorts and a cotton t-shirt. Along the way, Pucker got a flat tyre, which he knew nothing about remedying at the time, so he and his mom rode to a nearby bike shop to get it fixed. And that’s when, Pucker says, his life changed.
“I saw a Specialized SL7 Tarmac bike in the bike shop, and I bought it that day,” Pucker says. “I even rode it home. It’s the same bike I’ve been using for my entire career thus far in cycling.”
And so began Pucker’s obsession with cycling. By early 2022, he rode at the crack of dawn before starting his workday at his family’s landscaping business. He rode after work as well. He purchased a trainer so he could ride in inclement weather. And it wasn’t long before Pucker was racking up 30-hour weeks on the bike.
Farm Watts
(Image credit: Images supplied by Hayden Pucker)
Pucker began setting arbitrary goals like riding 200 miles in a weekend or burning 10,000 calories in one ride. For two years in a row, Pucker totaled 35,000 yearly miles by bike.
Initially, Pucker’s parents were more concerned than supportive of his fanatical riding regimen.
“To my parents, my love of biking seemed like a disorder,” Pucker says. “They saw that I was spending so much time and energy when they thought I should be focusing elsewhere. Ultimately, that’s why I started racing: to show them my future in the sport.”
Today, Pucker says his parents are fully supportive of his cycling pursuits, and he notes that they will get up at ungodly hours to support his esports races in international time zones.
As Pucker ventured into the racing scene — which was most easily achieved via esports racing on the trainer due to his rural location — it didn’t take long for cycling coaches to notice that Pucker is, in his words, “built like a horse.”
“Zach Nehr reached out to me in May 2024 on Instagram and offered to coach me for free,” Pucker says. “I trust him, and I follow what he programs for me.”
|
Day of the Week |
Workout |
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Monday |
Rest Day |
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Tuesday |
Easy Day |
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Wednesday |
Vo2 Max Ride |
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Thursday |
Tempo Ride |
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Friday |
Openers |
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Saturday |
MyWhoosh race |
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Sunday |
Long Endurance Ride |
Nehr and other coaches call Pucker’s incredible power output “farm watts” — a nod to his muscular frame, rural roots and day job as a landscape project manager.
“I’ll hold 500 watts for an hour on the trainer,” Pucker says. “I embrace the identity of being an elite cyclist who does not look like a cyclist at all, and I love that I can put out big power numbers. I take pride in all of that; I don’t want to lose weight and be skinny. I want to see how much power I can possibly generate.”
The 2025 Cycling Esports World Finals
(Image credit: Images supplied by Hayden Pucker)
Pucker will have the chance to see just how many watts he can create and sustain on the grandest stage in cycling esports at the 2025 Cycling Esports World Championships this weekend.
Esports Worlds is familiar territory for Pucker, who placed fifth at Worlds last year after holding 600 watts for five minutes.
This year, Pucker heads into Worlds as the 2025 USA Cycling Esports National Champion, having clinched that title with a solo breakaway over the final 20km.
Pucker has, in his words, experienced highs and lows this season, with minor illnesses preventing him from performing at his best at some races, and physical challenges turning what should have been enjoyable events into frustrating ones.
“I tried to do The Traka gravel race this year, but I realised quickly I don’t have the bike handling skills for a course like [that]”, Pucker says. “I also started at Unbound Gravel this year, but I crashed five miles into the race, and that solidified for me that my focus moving forward will be esports racing on the trainer.”
Pucker is open about the fact that he is legally blind in his right eye due to a cataract, which can make riding outdoor, technical courses tricky. No matter for Pucker, as he’s more than happy to take on the esports scene.
“I’m feeling really, really confident [for Worlds],” Pucker says. “I’m feeling confident about my preparation for Worlds and Zach [Nehr] has had me do some great simulation workouts. My goal is to finish in the top three at Worlds.
But esports racing is more than just brute force, says Pucker.
“Although I’ll be standing, out of my saddle, pushing 65rpm likely for the entire race at Worlds, there is strategy and there are tactics, and drafting and breaking away are all part of esports racing,” Pucker says. “Cycling esports isn’t just ‘exercising,’ it’s truly full-on racing.”
To qualify for the final, Pucker and the other finalists competed in a global qualification system of events hosted both by national cycling federations and public races. Only 20 men have been selected for the final this weekend, where they’ll compete in a three-stage, points-based showdown in a custom MyWhoosh virtual world.
The stages consist of a “Mountain’s Verdict” climbing stage, a “Puncher’s Playground” rolling terrain stage, and a “Sprinter’s Paradise” finishing circuit. Cumulative points from all three define the world champion, who gets to take home the title, a virtual (and real-life) rainbow jersey and a $15,000 prize purse.
Cycling Weekly will have a reporter on site and will publish full race results on Saturday, 15 November.
