Leo Hayter hunts team to launch professional comeback at Chrono des Nations

Back in July, Leo Hayter revealed his ambition to return to professional racing for 2026 from over a year's hiatus, after taking a step back from the sport due to suffering from mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and an eating disorder, with his last professional race being the Tour de Hongrie almost 15 months ago. 

Hayter’s goal for the remainder of 2025 target of a podium finish at the Chrono des Nations, a time trial event held in October in the Vendée region in France which he announced in July, however the 23 year old recently revealed that he is still looking for a team at the continental level or higher to host him for the event which is necessary due to the UCI 1.1 race category ranking of the event. 

“Physically, I’m still pretty unfit, I have a lot of weight to lose and to do that in the right way takes a lot of time. I still wanted a goal to motivate me this year, so I decided to focus on the Chrono des Nations in October,” Hayter stated in a social media update on August 5. 

“I neglected the TT discipline in the last few years, but it’s something I enjoy the process of, and I’m actually quite good at! To perform in a road race after hours of racing, without any miles in my legs, just wouldn’t be realistic this year, so this is a goal which is definitely optimistic, but also possible," Hayter explained in the statement. “I’d like to arrive on the podium, but to be honest, I’d be quite happy to just arrive and do my best performance on a time trial bike," said Hayter.

“There’s one hitch; since it’s a UCI 1.1 category race, I must be riding for a continental team or above to compete," Hayter explained. “I’m looking for a team to give me a home for the race. I don’t need any external support or funding, I just need a jersey and an opportunity.”

With regards to the look for a team, Hayter further explained his desire to have a team to host him, but stated he would not need any additional support beyond a home for the race, with his equipment already sorted. 

“Ideally, I would like to be able to use my own bike/equipment. I can cover all the branding. In the end, to perform at a TT of this level, if all the details aren’t right, you don’t really have a chance. I bought my Pinarello last year and have put quite some hours into it, so to change everything so late in the year just wouldn’t work.”

Before his hiatus, as an under-23, Hayter showcased his potential as a future star by winning the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs race in 2021, a race that featured Oscar Onley and Tobias Halland Johannessen, who both starred at the recent Tour de France, as well as many other currently well-established WorldTour-level riders.

In doing so, Hayter became the first British rider to win the race, and has since been joined by Joseph Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech), who was triumphant in 2024. With no British male rider ever having won the elite race, plenty of excitement began to build around the prospects of Hayter as an elite rider in future years. 

The hype was compounded further the following year when Hayter shone at the Giro Ciclistico d’Italia (The Baby Giro), where he won two consecutive stages and sealed the general classification, becoming only the second British rider to do so, having followed in the footsteps of Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) in 2020. 

In the process, Hayter defeated more very well-established riders in the current peloton, such as Onley once more, as well as Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto) and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), who joined him on the overall podium, to name a few.

Hayter’s clear talent and further potential earned him a spot on the Ineos Grenadiers two months later in August as a stagiaire, before he would join them full time on a three-year contract from the start of 2023, linking up with his older brother, Ethan.

However, after a year and a half as a full-time professional with the British team, Hayter issued a heartfelt blog statement on August 16, 2024, revealing that he would be stepping away from professional racing for an undefined period of time due to suffering from mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and an eating disorder. 

“Last May, I hit an all-time low. I was completely stuck. I couldn’t leave my apartment in Andorra; I could barely leave my bed,” part of Hayter’s statement read. “My support team at Ineos got me home and assessed professionally, where I was diagnosed with Depression,” added the statement.

Hayter was candid in his honesty, admitting that he was unsure whether he would return to the professional ranks, but on July 12, 2025, the 23-year-old posted on instagram announcing his intent and optimism to return to professional racing in 2026, revealing that for the remainder of 2025, “my goal for the year is to finish on the podium of the Chrono des Nations, in October, however to ride I need to be in a continental team… if anyone is interested in giving me a home…call me.” 

In the statement, Hayter also stated, “I raced the Catalan time trial championship today. I was excited to do it, I spent the last few weeks preparing for it and executed a ride I’m really proud of. I had the fastest time of the day, and honestly, it’s one of the best time trial performances I’ve ever done, albeit 15kg heavier than when I was a pro. Step by step and all that.” 

Hayter's most recent statement on Tuesday morning illustrated the 23-year-old's positive trajectory in managing his struggles with mental health and reaffirmed his ambitions to return to professional racing.

“I’m confident that I am in a place mentally that will allow that to be successful. Is everything perfect? No. But part of this process has been being at peace with the fact that it probably never will be. Learning ways to overcome those hard days, rather than beating myself up that they happen in the first place,” Hayter said in his statement.