Whatever age you start, it’s never too late to improve
To make it to the top, you need to start young, right? Think again! Chris Mars hall-bell meets riders who started later in life, yet rose to the highest level
We all know the pathway to turning pro: sportsmen and women start their sport young, commit wholly in their midteens, and by the time they are in their early-20s, all they’ve ever known as an adult is being a professional athlete. But that isn’t the only route by which those we admire, our cycling heroes, have become so masterful that they’re paid to do what is, at its core, their passion and hobby. Whether your goal is to become an elite category rider, to win a regional championship on the track, a World Masters Championship, or even land a professional contract and win UCI races, it is almost never too late.
“The performance trajectory of a cyclist is: improving up until about
30, then plateauing until about 40,” Richard Davison, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of West Scotland, tells Cycling Weekly. “There are certain elements at 40 you could not achieve in your teenage years, but between 20 and 40, the changes are relatively small. It is only from about 50 that there is a significant decline in actual performance.”
Alex Spratt, a former rugby union player who had trials for England, started track racing aged 27 and holds a personal best for the 200m individual pursuit of 9.987 seconds – the first amateur to record a time below 10 seconds.
“Physiologically, I am still increasing my power and speed and will continue to do so until I am 35 or older,” says the 30-year-old. More from Spratt later.
Changing the narrative
The narrative, despite a smattering of isolated cases to the contrary, is that if you’re not a professional by your early20s, you never will be. Perhaps it’s time to overturn this idea. “Is there a major difference in physiological potential