'Keep eking out little performance gains and you can progress at any age': Tips for riding better than ever, at 49

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. 

Simon McNamara has been racing and riding since he was a junior but now at nearly 49 he feels he is riding better than ever. Having taken second in his age group at the 2023 gravel nationals, and setting his sights on a sub-18 minute 10-mile time trial, he’s still racing some of the UK’s most prestigious road races as he closes in on 50. 

What does it take to stay at the sharp end for over three decades? Consistency, cutting out the biscuits and booze, and playing to your strengths as you age are some of the tips he rolls out. 

"I look at my cycling and there were so many wasted years where I didn’t  take it at all seriously.  For example, I barely drink anymore. I’m much more about the metrics which affect performance. The biggest thing for me is understanding the fuel I put into my body and how it directly affects my performance." 

Cycling has always been a big part of Simon’s life, even in the years when he was taking cycling less seriously. He has had several different cycling industry jobs including Store Manager and bike fitter at Southdowns Bikes in Storrington, and currently with Hunt Bike Wheels. He has always regularly ridden with friends, and his brother Chris, also a very accomplished rider who has over 60 open time trial results to his name and is a TrainSharp coach.  

"I was a reasonably handy junior competing at a national level but I really lost my way in my first ten years as a senior," Simon continues, "As a junior I had a third place in the junior national series , the Monroe Junior GP - Peter Buckley Trophy Race, a top ten in the pursuit at the Junior Nationals Track Championships and raced in Belgium at part of the South East Centre of Excellence." 

New technology and a better understanding of coaching science has played a big part in his new approach to racing, "having a power meter made training really accountable. It became almost addictive because I could see the things that were making a difference to my performance."

For many years Simon was riding and racing without really doing that much training, just getting by on experience and a good dose of natural talent but now his training is much more focused, "I enjoy the process more now than ever. Part of me is thinking time is running out but if you can keep eking out little performance gains you can keep progressing at any age." 

Simon has always been a multi-talented rider competing across virtually every cycling discipline but he says some types of racing suit you better as you get older, "I’m mainly road racing, time trialling and gravel racing.  [The] time trial is very accountable and measurable. As a middle-aged rider, it is somewhere you can excel, there is less jumping around."

Racing in a mixed field with younger riders can have its challenges but experience and knowing your own riding style will get you a long way, "I’m often the oldest guy in the field, you have to adapt the way you ride those races, I’m not that punchy anymore. I tend to just survive on the shorter steeper hills and then make the moves or get up the road on my own." Part of preparation is reviewing the course and working out where it works for you. 

Diet and lifestyle has played a huge part in being able to improve even as he gets older, "I’m so much lighter now than when I was in my 20s and early 30s. I spent a little bit of time burning the candle at both ends and after a few years your weight creeps up. I still drink but they are very much one offs. It’s still good to let your hair down completely but now it’s the exception not the rule."

Over time Simon realised that he got more satisfaction from being healthy, "I’m always thinking about how to fuel my body and wanting to feel healthy. It has an effect on your mood and positivity." 

Simon takes a very simple pragmatic approach to weight loss, "I don’t like weight loss if I’m doing it via an app, I start to feel it governing my life. It is just about portion size and not going back for seconds, cutting out the biscuits in the evening." 

That doesn’t mean an end to socialising or having fun. "For me, racing and training gives me a lot of good endorphins but it is also the social part of meeting people that keeps me going, cycling is a big part of my life. I ride with my brother and we have a good group around here connected with TrainSharp [Coaching] - I do a 200km ride to Brighton and back most Saturdays, it is pretty pacey." 

Simon has raced nearly every year since he was a youth rider, but with varying degrees of competitiveness. "Last year I really wanted to win the gravel nationals, I tried to focus my training on that as I had come 2nd the year before." Annoyingly for him he was 2nd again but in cycling there is always ‘next year.’ "I’ll be over 50 but I’ll still be racing the same guys as we move up together."

Part of his new commitment to racing is the master’s scene, which is open to riders over 30 and offers awards in each category. "The masters racing around the world is really buoyant. It is very difficult to be competitive in Nat B races now," understandable, as these second tier races draw in some of the best riders in the country. "With masters racing you can dip your toe into national racing and race against your age group peers."

Given how his training and focus has developed as a master does he regret not applying this level of commitment at a younger age? "I had a lot of aspiration as a junior as I thought I could be a good rider. My first two years as a senior I was injured over and over again. It wouldn’t have changed things an awful lot – I don’t think I’d have ever made pro level – but I could have been better."

Reaching masters age group racing and being competitive there has given a lot of satisfaction, "For the last ten years I have reached a level that I’m happy with, I put a lot of work in and I’m getting the results I deserve. In time trials I’m getting better results than I ever have. With or without a power meter I understand myself better than ever before." 

Simon’s time trial results are impressive, even outside of age-group racing, "My fastest time is now 18.28 for a ten-mile time trial. I’d like to go under 18.15, I’d love to do a long 17 – it could be possible, maybe on the right day with the right conditions." Time trials is an area where you can really measure your progress, "I rode quite seriously the year I was 30 and managed a 20-minute ten, now I’d be devastated if I did that! I understand how hard I have to ride a TT well. I think I’m good at that. I have the mental strength and focus." He puts these times down to technology as well as training: "I really love kit and technology – bikes are so much better than when we were younger."

When thinking about advice for younger riders he believes it is more psychological than physical, "so much of this sport is having it in the head, the biggest thing is consistency. If you can just be consistent in your training and enjoy what you are doing you will keep getting better." For him he says a lot of his longevity in the sport is down to the social aspects of riding, "Meeting my friends, doing my training is part of my life. I can’t see myself stopping. I would love to be a masters world champion at some point in my career, I just need to outlast everyone else!"