Sports Student Life General Education

MSU Cycling champion traveled from New Zealand for chance to learn, compete

Andy Newberry
10 October 2024
3 min read

Molly Hayes fell in love with cycling at age 10. She graduated from high school in New Zealand at 17 and knew that traveling was in her future.

Wichita Falls, Texas, or even America wasn’t really what she had in mind. She assumed she’d continue studying and then compete in Europe.

However, a high school teacher asked her about sending off her CV to some American universities. That led her to be connected with MSU Texas Cycling and Midwestern State University.

Months later she was a Mustang and a national champion, too.

“It’s very different than back home in New Zealand, but it’s been good for me,” Hayes said. “I get to experience everything all at once – cycling and school – rather than adjust to just a life of training and then going back to schoolwork.”

Cyclists usually come self-motivated, and Hayes fits that description, but she said she enjoys her teammates. “Back home, I did a lot of training by myself as everyone was scattered around the country, so you never got to train with them,” Hayes said. “I think it’s good having teammates around. I learn from them. Coming here has been very good for me, personally.”

Hayes was “nervous” flying over the first time, a half-world away without her parents and meeting new people. But her parents have been able to make the trip to see her since then.

Hayes traveled home during the summer, which made for a quick transition to Texas heat just before the Hotter’N Hell race in Wichita Falls. New Zealand was in its winter, and her body became accustomed to 45-degree days. The asphalt and gravel at the HHH were much warmer.

“I had a week and a half to get acclimated to the climate, and at 5:30 p.m., it was especially hot; I was cooking,” Hayes said. “It was hot wind, and I felt like I was in an oven.”

Her championship last spring for MSU Texas Cycling came in the time trials in New Mexico, but Hayes considers herself more of a road racer. MSU Texas Cycling Director Pablo Cruz Trochez was impressed to witness Hayes quickly adapting to college cycling and her adjustment to the altitude at nationals.

Molly Hayes at the 2024 Hotter'N Hell

“At just 18, Molly performed incredibly well at her first Collegiate Road Nationals,” Cruz Trochez said.

“I’d say I’m built more like a road runner – the longer the race, the better for me,” Hayes said. She finished 14th at Track Nationals in September in Pennsylvania and was part of an MSU Texas Coed Sprint Team, which took fourth place. And she was pleased with a second-place finish at a big event in New Zealand.

Hayes is excelling while mostly competing against older, more experienced racers. Many collegiate cyclists are in their mid-20s.

“I’d rather have it harder than easier, and I enjoy the competition,” Hayes said. “You can learn from other riders. I learn from being in the race against them.”

For a career, Hayes would like to work inside cycling with physiotherapy, training, or helping a team. “It’s something I know a lot about," she said.

When she tried indoor velodrome cycling at her elementary school, Hayes didn't realize where her pedaling skills would lead. And when her high school teacher said, “Give me your CV, and I can send it off to some schools,” Hayes wasn’t counting on anything. “I thought, sure, nothing is going to happen. But seven schools replied, and over Zoom, Pablo gave the best pitch to me.”

Hayes was also impressed with her first experience at HHH, seeing the Wichita Falls community come out to support the event and the MSU Texas Cycling team.

“I’ve got no complaints,” Hayes said. “This has been good for me.”