The Midlife Cyclist - by Phil Cavell (Paperback)

About the Book

With the help of medical experts, leading coaches, ex-professionals, and pro-team doctors, cycling biomechanics pioneer Phil Cavell produces a practical guide for mature cyclists who want to stay healthy, avoid injury, and maximize their achievement levels.

Book Synopsis

With the help of medical experts, leading coaches, ex-professionals, and pro-team doctors, cycling biomechanics pioneer Phil Cavell produces a practical guide for mature cyclists who want to stay healthy, avoid injury, and maximize their achievement levels.

Midlife Cyclist offers a gold standard road-map for the mature cyclist who aims to train, perform and even race at the highest possible level. Cycling has seen a participation uplift unprecedented in any sport, especially in the 40, 50 and 60-year-old age groups. These athletes are the first statistically significant cohort to maintain, or even begin, genuine athletic performance beyond middle-age. But, just because we can continue to tune the engine into old age, does that mean that we should? And, what do these training efforts do to the aging human chassis? This book answers those questions and offers a guide to those elongating their performance window.

Using case studies and expert contributions from all aspects of the sport, Midlife Cyclist looks at cycling as an aging person's exercise of choice, the physical implications of hard training, and the use of sport medication and specific training in combating them. It also considers the age-specific questions raised, including what happens to performance as we mature? Will the bike specifications alter as our bodies change? Should we refine our riding technique and how do we best deploy the psychological advantages of being older riders?

Review Quotes

"A must-read... this brilliant book shows you that getting older doesn't mean getting slower!" --Alan Murchison, The Cycling chef and masters cycling champion

"Phil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough." --Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion

"A road-map for the mature cyclist" --Cycling News

"Phil's book can help you be as good today as you always said you were" --Carlton Kirby, Eurosport commentator

"I am blown away by the level of detail Phil Cavell brings to his work" --Elinor Barker MBE, multiple world champion and Olympic gold medallist

"An amazing accomplishment... a simple-to-understand précis of your midlife as a cyclist - you won't want to put it down." --Phil Liggett, TV cycling commentator

"I'm determined to grow old gracefully in lycra, and Phil Cavell has been helping me to do it successfully for years." --Gary Kemp

"The Midlife Cyclist is entertaining, insightful, well-researched and vital reading for all youngsters over forty who have a love affair with the bike." --Norman Foster

"A must for the older athlete, it's motivated me to train harder again." --Sir Rocco Forte

"The Midlife Cyclist is a triumph" --Cycling Plus

"Are you middle-aged? Are you slower than you used to be, more tired? Read this book. It will help you." --The Cycling Independent

About the Author

Phil Cavell is joint founder and CEO of Cyclefit, Europe's first centre devoted to modern bike-fitting and cycling-analysis. He was a member of the pioneering bike-fitting group known as 'The Sultans of Fit'. Cyclefit are leader in the field, hosting events featuring the best minds in cycling science, biomechanics, injury and cycling analysis. Phil is a consultant to pro-racing team Trek Racing and women's team Team Drops, he has lectured at the Royal Society of Medicine and has contributed to books The Science of the Tour de France: Training Secrets of the World's Best Cyclists (Bloomsbury, 2016) and Fitter, Further, Faster: Get Fit for Sportives and Road Riding (Bloomsbury, 2013). He also wrote The Rough Guide to Cycling in London.