An interview with Zwift Team Restart pb Alex Coh elite esport racer, USA’s Hayden Pucker.
Hey there! Thanks for the chance to get to know you a bit better. Let's kick things off with a little intro. Can you share a bit about your background—where you're from, what you do, and what lights your fire outside of cycling?
Hey, thanks for having me! I’m from Rosendale, WI, a small town in the middle of rural Wisconsin. I am a landscaper for my family’s business that my parents started in their early 20s. Ever since I was young, I have been obsessed with fitness.
I ran track and cross country and was competitive all my life. I used to ride my bike 15 miles to school every day, then do cross-country practice and ride home. Besides track and cross country, which I did for fun in school, I was an elite Taekwondo competitor and ranked number 1 in the U.S. for juniors -78kg.
I won Taekwondo Nationals and was awarded 3rd place at the U.S. Open and Pan AM games.
I had hoped to go to the Olympics all my life. What lights my fire for my athletic endeavors is pushing myself and seeing how far I can take the sport of my choosing. Outside of athletics, I have always had a great work ethic and always feel the need to be doing something.
That's awesome! Now, let's dive into your cycling journey. When did you first hop on a bike competitively, and what's been your proudest moment on the road?
I got my first road bike in the summer of 2019. COVID-19 completely shut down Taekwondo, and traveling and competing every weekend burnt me out. I lost my love for the sport. But I never lost my drive for fitness. I ran 12-16 miles every day before work and lifting at night.
It led to injury, so one day, I talked to my mom and asked if she wanted to go on a bike ride with me that Sunday. We used to do small rides together, and she had a very nice road bike. So, that Sunday, we went out and did 50 miles on our first real ride. I did this in shorts, a T-shirt, and flat pedals.
We knew nothing about cycling, but we both loved it. That following weekend, I asked her if she wanted to go again, and she agreed, and we did our first-ever 100-mile ride! But at mile 70, I got a flat, and we didn’t know how to fix it or have the equipment to do so. So I ended up riding the rim to my local bike shop, where I found the road bike I have to this day. It was a specialized SL7 tarmac.
After that, I fell in love with the sport, and instead of running, I rode every day. I quickly became very strong due to the volume I was doing. In my first full year of cycling, I rode on average 36,000 miles—over 100 miles a day.
It caused me to build an extremely good base, and through Strava, I got noticed. An ex-pro from the Chicago lab tested me and discovered I had an FTP of 410 watts and a VO2 max of 78 with no structured training or a coach. He invited me to the Olympic training center for track cycling team pursuit. That was an eye-opening and life-changing experience. I met my future coach, Zach Gregg, and the team director for Aevolo Pro Cycling.
They invited me to the Aevolo team camp, and ever since then, I have realized being a pro cyclist is all I want, and I have focused on it. I was supposed to guest ride for Aevolo, but I broke my arm at the Unbound race last year, so I was unable to. 2023 was my first official race season, and I did a lot of road, gravel, and ultra races.
However, I did not have great luck because my bike handling did not hold up to my power numbers. But my local bike shop, Attitude Sports, has helped guide and given me so much support.
My proudest moment on the road would be setting the course record at 12 hours of Road America. I rode 260 miles in 12 hours with over 15,000 feet of climbing.
Fascinating! Switching gears a bit—tell us about your transition into the world of virtual cycling esports. What got you hooked, and what's the crowning achievement of your indoor career?
In Wisconsin, you can’t ride year-round outside safely. So, I bought a smart trainer and used Zwift off my iPhone for the first year. It hooked me, but I didn’t do any Zwift racing the first year.
Later that year, I met a few friends through Strava, who did a lot of Zwift racing at the highest level. I expressed my interest to them, and they took me under their wing and showed me how to race and what I needed to do.
I upgraded to an iPad and got a better trainer, but racing on Zwift was a huge learning curve that I’m still working at. When I started, I was horrible and could not even sit in an A-race peloton. But over that year, I raced a lot and slowly started to get better and better results.
Now I’m hooked and would like to be one of the best esports racers in the world. My main goal for esports is to make Team U.S.A., compete at Worlds, and have top results in races such as the Zwift Grand Prix and the Zwift games.
Sounds like a wild ride! Speaking of rides, you're part of a Zwift Grand Prix esports team, right? How has being on a team shaped you, and is there something unique about your team that's led to its success?
I am! I joined Restart pb Alex Coh about a month ago after I did my first-ever elite Zwift race and got a top result. That first Echelon Racing League race made me hungry, and I wanted to start taking esports more seriously.
Restart is a fantastic team. Everyone on it works hard and has given me so much advice. With them, I have gotten my best results, such as winning the annual 200k KISS and 3rd place in the 3rd race of the Echelon Racing League.
What’s unique about Restart is the bond between all the riders. Everyone is so close, and they all look out for one another. They genuinely want everyone on the team to succeed.
Great insights! For context, could you share some of your physical stats, like your indoor personal bests for various power intervals?
Peak power: 1,200W inside / 1,500W outside
1 min power: 780W inside/ 800W outside
Peak 3 min: 600W inside / 619W outside
Peak 5 min: 550W inside/ 565W outside
Peak 10 min: 500W inside / 500W outside
Peak 20 min: 470W inside/ 450W outside
Impressive numbers! Looking ahead, what are your esports goals, both short-term and long-term? Is becoming the UCI Cycling Esports World Champion on your radar, and what does it mean to you?
My biggest goal for this year is to qualify for the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. Yes, that is on my radar, and it means everything to me. I put so much time and energy into this sport it would make it all worth it to qualify and have the opportunity to race the best in the world.
Video credits to Zwift Community Live
That's ambitious! How do you feel about the current multi-platform landscape of esports championships, both nationally and internationally?
I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it. I don’t have any experience on other platforms, such as MyWhoosh, but I would like to get into it more in the upcoming year!
Interesting perspective. There are skeptics who question the legitimacy of esports. What's your take on the challenges esports faces in gaining recognition and trust?
I feel that when you get to the elite level, it is very fair. You must verify your height, weight, and power numbers with dual recordings. Of course, there will be people who still find a way to cheat, but that is in every sport, so I think they are doing a great job at keeping it fair at the elite level.
Well said! With multiple platforms available for esports, where do you see yourself fitting in? Do you race on more than one platform? Are there features on one platform that you prefer over others?
I really love Zwift, always have, and with the Zwift games coming up, I see myself sticking to Zwift. However, I am open to racing on different platforms and will definitely in the future. The Zwift community keeps you hooked and engaged.
Good to know! What do you think could make virtual cycling more engaging for spectators?
Getting to know each rider better and seeing them more as a person rather than an avatar will make esports a lot more engaging and fun to watch.
That's a thought-provoker! Looking into the crystal ball, where do you see esports in five years or even further down the line?
In 5 years, I see esports as an Olympic sport and the future of bike racing. More and more people are joining esports for safety reasons. With the community growing and the game constantly being updated, I’m very excited to see what esports can develop into.
Intriguing! Now, for a fun twist—give us an exclusive. What's something about you that even your mates don't know?
I listen to Taylor Swift exclusively on hard training rides and during races!
Wow, that's a juicy tidbit! Before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
My nickname is Farmwatts. I got the name Farmwatts from a podcast put on by Fastcat Coaching. My coach was sharing an interval session I had done that week. I believe it was 3 x 15 mins at 470 watts.
Since I’m from rural Wisconsin, I have farm fields surrounding my house, and I have big, strong watts; they gave me the name Farmwatts. “Corn-fed farm watts” is a quote from the podcast. After that, it stuck, and everyone started calling me it!
I liked it and embraced it because it fits the culture of the area I’m from. I’m a larger rider at 85kg, and in the summertime, I often work like a farmer from sun up to sun down, but instead of farming, I am landscaping.
I originally got into cycling because I wanted to be an IRONMAN athlete. I signed up for IRONMAN Wisconsin 70.3 a month before the race without ever swimming once. I got in the pool and quickly realized I could not swim at all.
I still did the race and came out of the water last. But with my running background and newfound fitness on the bike, I qualified for worlds and decided to go. I did IRONMAN Worlds in St. George, Utah, but I could still not swim well. I held my own with a 4 hours and 47 minutes finishing time but then decided to just focus on my cycling.
I have the phrase “Go One More” tattooed on my wrist so I can read that when I’m really in the pain cave. Your mind is so powerful, and I believe you always have more in you than you think.
Fantastic! Thanks for this enlightening conversation. Wishing you all the best this Zwift Grand Prix!
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
