Originally Posted by
ericm979
What GA said. When you're older you're supposed to be using your experience to your advantage. If you're getting beaten in sprints then you need to use some different tactics. It's hard to win from the front especially if you've been pulling.
Being older also means that you need to train differently. You won't recover as well as when you were younger, and you need to do more intensity. I also find that I need to do weight and core work to keep some amount of basic strength. If I just ride and don't do anything else then I get weak.
^^Most useful post thus far.
I've been racing since the early 80's (you do the math) and there really isn't much I do now that is the same as I did back then. There wasn't a sudden change but a constant series of adaptations as situations (like age and level of competition) changed.
For olde farts you need to be far more conscious of nutrition and recovery. You need to monitor your heart rate (taken when you first wake up) to keep track of recovery and adjust training accordingly.
The threadbare EPO comments were posted and suitable ignored. There are other LEGAL supplements that do help with the effects aging has on hormones. You could explore those depending on your level of commitment.
Training smarter could involve a PM or you may benefit from simply cutting out any junk mileage and refocusing your program to address the weakness as they are
now not when you first learned how to train.
Racing differently is certainly the most cost effective and immediate thing you could do. The poster that denied that wisdom and treachery will out youth is wrong to a large degree. Unless you are doing races at a seriously high level wisdom will take you a LONG way.
You need to ride smarter.
With experience you know where the gap or draft will be before it is there. You need to put yourself there at the right moment. With experience you can anticipate accelerations before they happen. Already be in the right gear and spin it up instead of being surprised and having to jump in a big gear. You probaly know when the counters will come so be on the right wheels and let them pull you to where you need to be.
These are just a few examples of how racing smarter can offset the snap you feel you may have lost over time.
Brother, I feel your pain but all is not lost.