What it takes to go as fast as ever at 50

Andy Critchlow won the 2023 BBAR [British Best All-Rounder], also winning the UCI Masters Time Trial World Champion in his age group the same year. Here, he tells us the training that goes into achieving 400 watts for almost 30 minutes.

You are the current BBAR – what does that entail?

It’s a very historic event, over 100 years old. The British Best All-Rounder [BBAR] is awarded to the rider with the fastest average time achieved in time trialling over three distances: 50 miles, 100 miles and the 12-hour. I won it last year, at age 49 – and I won it by 0.02 of a mile, over 450 miles of racing, which works out to about 30 metres.

You rode at a high level until your mid-20s then stopped riding for nearly 20 years. How do your power numbers compare?

Weirdly, I’m not far off. I remember when I won the British universities 4,000m pursuit, beating Chis Newton’s record at the time. Back then, I was doing between 450 and 500 watts for 4,000m, and I’m doing about 430 to 450 now. When I won the Masters World Championship TT Iast year, I held 400 watts for 27 minutes.

How do you fit training around your job as a business journalist?

What I’ve come to understand, and it’s a shame it has taken me all my life, is that you’ve got to make sacrifices. If getting up at 4.30am and going to bed early is what it takes to compete, then that’s what you’ve got to do. I’ve got better over time at prioritising and being more disciplined. However, I think that a lot of people can get lulled into a sense of having to do a certain amount of hours on the bike and their whole life revolves around cycling. That brings all sorts of problems that can affect your performance.

How much do you train and race?

I train between 12 and 15 hours per week, but I’ve learned that you can’t do that much if you race every weekend – it’s impossible and just grinds you down. So I race less now and concentrate on training a bit more, targetting the races I really want to win.

When’s your favourite time to train, and do you ride inside or outdoors?

Five o’clock in the morning, outside. It’s a fabulous time of the day to ride. The roads are yours, so it’s much safer – then you get back home and start your day. Last week, for example, I got up, cycled 50-odd miles, came home, had a shower then cycled to the station for work. But I wouldn’t do that two days on the trot.

Quick tips

Top tip for long TTs?

The bike set-up is massively important, and because of the duration, there’s more potential for things to go wrong. How you react to adversity is important – basically, don’t panic!

How to fuel in long races?

Eat solid food from the start and keep fuelling even if you feel bad. The moment you miss a feed or a bottle, you are in big trouble.