She Broke Her Wrist a Week Before the Race — Then Finished Top 10 | Hayley Preen
Aug 14, 2026 · 1 hr 26 min · 11 segments
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…
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 career 5:22 — Winning Road Nationals as a complete outsider 10:18 — Chasing the Olympics, and missing out on Paris 17:23 — A brutal European season, and the decision to walk away 20:43 — Sleeping in a car at Sea Otter, then racing Unbound for the first time 38:23 — Injuries, self-funding, and building a support network from scratch 47:18 — The moment everything clicked at Gravel Burn 57:37 — ChemChamp, Honeycomb, and finally turning professional 72:29 — The dream of a South African pair winning the Cape Epic \# === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 \# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub\_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b \# === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins Hayley @hayleypreen \# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH Related 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.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #originstory #podcast #revive #capeepic #enduranceathletes #mtb
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…
