She Broke Her Wrist a Week Before the Race — Then Finished Top 10 | Hayley Preen

She slept in her car at her first race in America. Two years later, she's finishing top ten in the toughest off-road series in the world.Hayley Preen is a South African cyclist who almost became a surgeon instead. In this conversation, she traces the whole path: competitive cross-country running and show jumping as a kid, a near-move to study medicine in America, an engineering degree at UCT that somehow coexisted with becoming national road champion, and the decision to walk away from a European road team that nearly broke her, only to find her real home in American gravel racing.This is a story about what it takes to back yourself completely when nobody's doing it for you yet, and what happens when it finally starts to pay off.# === CHAPTERS ===================================0:00 — From cross-country running to an accidental cycling career5:22 — Winning Road Nationals as a complete outsider10:18 — Chasing the Olympics, and missing out on Paris17:23 — A brutal European season, and the decision to walk away20:43 — Sleeping in a car at Sea Otter, then racing Unbound for the first time38:23 — Injuries, self-funding, and building a support network from scratch47:18 — The moment everything clicked at Gravel Burn57:37 — ChemChamp, Honeycomb, and finally turning professional72:29 — The dream of a South African pair winning the Cape Epic# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXUApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1Website: https://activehobo.com/Instagram: @theactivehoboStrava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b# === THE CREW ===================================Dave @davlewjenkinsHayley @hayleypreen# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5UFull podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXHRelated episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount# === WORK WITH US ===============================Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.comSend a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #originstory #podcast #revive #capeepic #enduranceathletes #mtb