by Carl Moler
David Stanton just competed in the 2019 60-64 Master’s National Time Trial in Colorado Springs last week.
This marked David’s 6th participation at venues around the country in his quest to win a National Championship. He has always done well, finishing in the top 10 the prior five competitions and was on the podium in 4th place in 2017. This year the challenges he faced were arguably his most formidable! David knew going in that he would need every advantage to have a chance to overcome these disadvantages.
1. Colorado Springs is at altitude & David lives at the beach in Orange County. This reality gives those Elite Competitors that live year round at a high altitude a distinct advantage.
2. David is 64 so he is one of the oldest competitors in his Age Category. Every year there are very strong contenders in an age group that “age up” … competitors are given the “racing age” that reflects their age on December 31 of that calendar year. Consequently, some of his competitors this year were actually 59 years old! Five years is a big difference in the world of Elite Bicycle Racing!
As previously stated, given these disadvantages, David knew he had to minimize their impact to have a chance. So he arrived in Colorado Springs three weeks before the race… this is considered the minimum amount of time one must train at altitude to have a chance to acclimate enough to perform at an Elite Level.
Not much one can do to negate the effects of “Father Time” but David tried ! He did his homework and implemented every “technological” advantage he could find to offset this age disadvantage. The final pieces of this multifaceted strategy were the acquisition of the most aerodynamic skin suit available and a chain that utilized ceramic lubricant as a component.
He also was arguably fanatical about following his nutritional and physical training regimen this year in preparation for the event.
He spent those 3 weeks in Colorado Springs doing training rides at altitude. He climbed Pike’s Peak and did numerous “Recon” rides of the National Time Trial Course.
Race Day came and as is often the case in time trials, Mother Nature was not consistent on race day. David’s start time was 12:31 … I was there with him and when he began on-site preparations at 10:30 AM there was very little breeze. By the time he went off in the middle of his sizable field of fifty riders at 12:31 the wind had stiffened to a formidable head wind. The following observations represent my opinions not necessarily David’s. The course was significantly harder on the way out so this was a definite disadvantage for the later racers like David who fought more wind on the way out and lost much of any advantage they might have gained on the “Power Rollers” on the way back due to the notable tailwind that all enjoyed.
David finished eleventh out of fifty racers on the day. He was 2 minutes off the winning time which gives you an idea of just how competitive the 60-64 age category was this year. After David had a couple of days to “process” his initial disappointment… he offered the following positives on his National Championship outcome this year:
1. He had the best time of any 64 year old.
2. He had the best time of any racer from California.
Another significant positive for the future is that next year David “ages up” to the 65-69 age category. He will be one of the “youngsters” in that field and also cuts his race length from 40K to 20K.
I am not really a betting man, but if I were, I would put my money on David Stanton in 2020 at the Master’s National Time Trial Championships!!
Congratulations to David for another stellar effort representing Canyon Velo this year at Nats !!