Can You Breakaway?

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Added: Mon. May 17, 2010 7:37pm
Posted in: Cycling

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I’m fascinated by anyone who outperforms those much younger. Out runs. Out paints. Out thinks. Out dances. Out swims. It never used to happen but it does now with growing frequency.  It’s no longer uncommon to create your best work later in life.  Sandy Scott is a good example.

After whipping everybody in the State of Florida, the 70-year-old cycling superstar moved on the Alabama Senior Olympics.

All of the riders were 50 and over and competing in age groups that spanned 5 years.  As expected, Sandy dominated the 70-74 year old age group. What was unexpected is that he turned in the fastest overall time trial in the competition, beating every other racer (some 20 years younger) by over a minute. He then came back to whip the entire field with a grueling breakaway in the road race. Old guys aren’t supposed to do that.

Sandy is among a growing number of men and women who are not only redefining the concept of aging, they’re demolishing it.  So how does he do it? I emailed Sandy and asked him this: “What's the take-away? Give me the unvarnished truth. What qualities do you have that create such amazing results?” Here’s his unedited answer:

“It's a combination of setting goals, refusing to accept anything short of accomplishing said goals, formulating a plan to accomplish the object and not letting anything stand in the way of achieving the goal.  It has a lot to do with an innate competitive spirit that refuses to lose.  For example, in the road race which unlike a time trial is difficult to predict, here I was in a large pack of unknown riders knowing that at the end I could be out sprinted by someone who is a much better sprinter than I.  I threw caution to the wind, knowing that if my competitors got on my wheel and drafted me, they would be doing 30% less work.  Nevertheless, into a brisk headwind, I did a very hard acceleration to 29 mph about a mile and a half from the finish line, put my body into absolute agony, thought of what Don Schollander once said about the difference between a champion and everyone else (the willingness and ability to push deeper into pain when everyone else is not) and rode away from the pack to a solo victory. Very satisfying feeling. It was particularly painful in that it was my third race of the morning!”

It’s not genes. It’s not drugs. It’s not a training secret. It’s a process. A well thought-out and superbly executed process combined with a single-minded focus that enables Sandy to persevere and overcome all obstacles.

Yes, Sandy Scott is a physical specimen. But don’t let the muscles disguise the fact that he’s also a mental specimen. And that’s the engine that powers his performance. Sandy Scott is proof that the mind controls the body.  How else can you explain ”the comeback?” Sandy suffered a near fatal head over handlebars crash during a race 6 years ago. He slammed into the road fracturing his neck. He should have died. Few thought he would ever ride again. Not only does he ride. He races. Like the wind.

His secret is simply not believing what the world has told him about aging. If he did, he wouldn’t even consider a breakaway late in a grueling race with younger racers right on his tail.

That’s what Sandy Scott does every day. He orchestrates a breakaway from the limitations of age. His mind wills. His body follows.

Want More? Here's the definitive video on Sandy Scott.