'I was 20 stone when I started, now I want to be a National Champion' - 69-year-old's tips on getting fit later in life

Cycling is an activity, or sport, you can enjoy at any age. Fitness writer Hannah Reynolds has been speaking to cyclists in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, bringing tips, advice and inspiration from cyclists who are still pedalling as the decades progress.

Owner of a north-west construction firm Chris Maffei reached 20 stone before a chance glance at his reflection in a shop window shocked him into weight loss. Since discovering cycling he has competed in time trials and hill climbs. He hopes to win an age group National Championship in 2024. 

"I’m very unusual, a lot of people tell me that, but this is the 100% truth" Chris Maffei begins his story. Unlike many of the veteran racing cyclists we speak to, Maffei is a relative newcomer to the sport,  "I’m 69, I’ll be 70 in August. I only came to cycling 9 years ago. I haven’t been cycling all my life. I was 20 stone when I started." 

Chris caught sight of his reflection in a shop window one day and didn’t recognise himself, "my wife said 'it’s off to Weight Watchers for you.'"  He started to lose weight through dieting but when he was told he needed to add in some activity he purchased his first bike. "My first ride was in Lytham St Annes," he recalls, "I rode 4 miles. I think it took me 3 hours. I thought, well this is quite pleasant. So, I did a bit more."

From a gentle start his cycling has progressed beyond all recognition, "Last Saturday I went out with a group, there was a 53 years difference between me and the next oldest rider. We went to Southport and back, 56 miles in 2 hours and 44 minutes, averaging over 20 miles an hour. I was riding with some of the best juniors in the country." Chris now weighs 77kg and has a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) of 298 watts. 

"It’s very easy to explain how I got to 20 stone. I run a construction company and work full time. When you are young you don’t bother. Peas, and pies or chips and gravy at lunch, coffee and donuts in the afternoon. My wife always made sure I had plenty to eat of an evening as I’d been working all day. How you get to that weight is called 'life'." But once he discovered cycling there was no slipping back into old habits, "I’m not obsessed with cycling – my wife says I am possessed by cycling!"

Joining the group ride 

The next step was riding with people, "I joined a club – game changer. Meeting people at the weekend who want to talk about bikes motivates me. I kept improving and after a while the first group got a bit static so I joined a slightly quicker group. Slowly I just moved up and up." Spending time with other riders helped him to pick up some cycling tips, "People introduced me to this thing called 'training'. Now I’m coached by Joe Cadwallader of 360 Cycling." When Cadwallader took him on he was the oldest rider he had ever coached, "he gave me a month’s free trial as it was new to both of us, after a week we knew it would work. He is a good coach. He took his time to coach me when I’m not a youngster and won’t be the next Bradley Wiggins. I sometimes gasp at the stuff he is asking me to do, but he knows I can do it."

Chris now focuses on ten- and 25-mile time trials, with a current personal best of  22:10 for ten miles,  "but I’m looking to go faster than that this year with a new bike and more training." He will be targeting the National 10 championships in September, "I’m moving up from the 65-69 group to 70-74. I was racing against younger people – going up will be much more favourable to me. To be perfectly honest with you I want to be the National Champion."  

It’s not just the competition that gets Chris excited but the camaraderie of cycling, "I’m a member of Bury Clarion and Blackpool Clarion. Three years ago, I put a message on Facebook for a Wednesday ride if anyone fancied joining me, one lad turned up. When we finished in October there were 38 riders there! There are varying degrees of ability but everyone can join in. That is what cycling is all about - inclusivity. So many people have improved by being a part of those rides. We even had Patrick Casey out with us, he just signed with Red Bull – Bora Hans-Grohe, he is 17 and a star of the future."

Maffei clearly takes great delight in his fitness and feels it should inspire people younger than him by showing them what is possible, "Everybody is younger than me that I ride with, I know that!  I led a ride last weekend and the final climb was a really hard one. We rode together on the flat but split up on the hills.  On climbs I’m waiting for people decades younger than me. How mad is that?" His advice to younger riders is consistency – keep focused and keep training. "Honest to god – age is just a number. I know it’s the years you lived, but it's amazing what you can do. You have got to be healthy and there is loads of work in that but if you start to enjoy the process of eating well and cycling it comes good." 

With such huge progress in later life does Chris ever wonder what might have been? "I’m loving it now! But yes, I would be foolish to say I wouldn’t have enjoyed cycling when I was younger. I could have been Wout Van Aert – we’ll never know." Despite less than a decade of cycling he has achieved many things, "I’ve ridden Alpe d’Huez, I go to Mallorca twice a year, I’ve ridden in the Dolomites and raced but most importantly everyone is so nice. I meet fabulous people in the clubs I ride with."

Placing value on health

His lesson for younger people is about valuing your health, "I’ve been building a business all my life and I thought that was what it was all about. Getting to the point of retirement and making sure I was ‘ok’ but I didn’t know how important health and fitness was. Eating is so important – the guys who work for me are younger but they are all eating pies – they laugh at me because I come on site with a salad box! It is so important to me to be fit and healthy." 

Losing weight and discovering cycling has made every part of his life more enjoyable, "I have a son who is coming up to 40, my grandkids are 15 and 7. I go out with my youngest grand kid on his bike. I don’t stand in the park and watch, I’m out there doing it with him." 

'Don't slow down!'

Despite being nearly 70 Chris is still working full-time and he feels stronger than ever, "I couldn’t get on the scaffold when I was 20 stone – I can build them now. I’m amazed at how strong I am."

His advice to people his own age is to not slow down, "I’ve no problem with people of similar age who want to ride round at ten-mile an hour but I want to ride round at 20+ mile an hour. At our age intensity is the most important thing! People retire and they start to go backwards because they are taking it easy." 

Losing weight and finding cycling has changed Chris’s lifestyle and improved his health,  "I’ve got so many years ahead of me – because I’ve made it that way.  This whole thing for me has changed my life. Its just incredible what cycling has done for me. I hope it motivates other people to see what someone like me can do at 69."