Key Traits for Success from 7 Masters and Grand Masters Champions

By Tracey Drews,
CTS Coach specializing in Grand Masters Athletes

Winning medals never gets old. As an athlete in the 65+ age category and a coach who specializes in working with athletes around my age and older, I can assure you that Grand Masters, Super Agers, Senior Athletes – or whatever name resonates with you – can be strong, fast, and competitive. In the spirit of the 2024 Olympic Games, the 2024 medal count (so far) for the seven athletes described below stands at 14 (11 Gold, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze, including 7 USA Cycling National Championships). You can do everything they do to be successful, whether your goal is to compete for medals or train for longevity and health. Learn more about each athlete below, plus the nine key traits they and other successful Grand Masters athletes have in common.

Scott Bulfinch – 3x Esports National Champion

Scott B is a 72-year-old retired Naval Captain and the 2024 M75-79 USA Cycling ESports National Champion. It was his third year and third gold medal in this event.

Scott has been a CTS Athlete since 2017. He’s been riding indoors exclusively since a crash in 2019. Scott’s goal of a Stars and Stripes jersey seemed out of reach until he discovered Zwift and the USA Cycling Esports National Championships.

Scott’s training plan is specifically designed for indoor competitions. His weekly training includes 5-6 days of cycling and walking and 2 days/week of strength/stability training.

Fred Schmid – 48x National Champion

Fred is leading the way in the 90+ age group. He earned his 46^th, 47^th, and 48^th USA Cycling National Championships in the Time Trial, Road Race, and Criterium at the 2024 Masters National Championships in Augusta, Georgia. He’s aiming for #49 at the 2024 Gravel National Championships.

Fred is a pioneer in the burgeoning “SuperAger” category.  A CTS athlete since 2011, he continues to compete at the age of 91 in gravel events, road races, time trials, criteriums, and cyclocross races.

Fred trains 5-6x/week, often with his 75-year-old teammate. Race specific intervals are infused 1-2x/wk and strength training 1-2x/wk. Fred also follows a modest, well-balanced nutrition plan and abstains from alcohol, which he considers a “performance reducing drug”.

Camilla Buchanan – 3x Gold, USA Cycling Masters National Championships

Camilla earned Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in the W80+ category for the Road Race, Time Trial, and Criterium at the 2024 USA Cycling Masters National Championships.

A former marathon runner and triathlete, Camilla returned to bike racing in 2023 after an almost 30-year hiatus to raise her family and help other families as an obstetrician. She started working with CTS after attending a Brevard Cycling Camp and has set her sights on the UCI 2024 Gran Fondo World Championships in Aalborg, Denmark this August.

Camilla rides 5-6 days/wk and has been focusing on race specific intervals 2-3x/wk.  She is also leaning into and understanding the importance of rest/recovery to ensure her successes in competition.

Jan Lewis – 3x Gold, South Carolina Senior Games

Jan’s most recent victories include the 5km and 10km Time Trial and 20km Road Race at the 2024 South Carolina Senior Games.

Jan turned to CTS in 2010 to train for her first of four cross-country bike trips. She continued to train for long distance cycling until five years ago when she decided she wanted to race at the age of 75. National Senior Games became the target event. Qualifying for and competing in Pittsburgh ’21 and Florida ’23 took Jan to state games in Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina. She has qualified for the 2025 National Senior Games.

Jan maintains her aerobic base by riding 2-3 hours, 2-3x/week with friends. For intensity she incorporates interval sessions 2x/week. A few weeks before competitions, you can find her on the Ravenel bridge completing her race prep intervals. Jan also strength trains 2x/week at a local gym.

Bruce Mandel – Gold, Gran Fondo Asheville

After earning a silver medal in 2023, Bruce claimed the top step for the Medio Route in the 70+ age group at the 2024 Gran Fondo Asheville. He plans to compete in Gran Fondo Maryland in September.

Bruce joined CTS Athlete in 2013 to enhance his training for epic endurance rides like the Triple Bypass and Ride the Rockies. He was able to improve his performances in those events, and many others, all while maintaining a successful periodontal practice. Over the last two years, he has set his sights on podium finishes in the Suarez Gran Fondo National Series Medio races.

A proud grandparent to three energetic grandchildren, and still working, Bruce trains on the bike 5x/ week, practices yoga and strength trains 2x/week.

Karen Schwartz – Bronze, Tucson Bicycle Classic

In February 2024, Karen raced the Tucson Bicycle Classic and won the bronze medal for the 60-69 age group. This adds to her ever-growing cache of podium bling!

A CTS Athlete since 2012 and a full-time ER nurse, Karen still finds time to train and race. Time trials and road races of any distance are her favorite events.  Karen’s work schedule (12-hour shifts 4-5 days per week) requires creative planning for training and sleep.

Karen’s training consists of 5-6 rides (indoors or outdoors, depending on her shifts), plus concentrated 30-minute strength training sessions twice per week and one or two swim sessions per week for active recovery.

David Hughson – Silver & Bronze, Missouri Senior Games

A relative newcomer to competitive cycling, David H. earned a silver medal in the 5km Time Trial and a bronze medal in the 10km Time Trial at the 2024 Missouri Senior Games. His results qualified him for the 2025 National Senior Games.

David became a CTS Athlete after attending a CTS Cycling Camp in Brevard in 2020. As a retiree, he’s become a student of the cycling and time trialing.

David’s training includes cycling five days per week, strength/functional training three days per week, and walking twice per week. He completes more than one training activity on most days, allowing him to take two rest days per week.

Key Traits for Success in 65+ Age Group Athletes

As I have worked with “mature athletes” throughout my CTS career, I have noticed several common traits that help them reach their goals and overcome some of the normal pitfalls of aging, most notably decreasing aerobic capacity, increasing body fat, withering muscles and cognitive decline. This list includes their ability to:

• Embrace and execute a consistent, periodized training plan
• Include strength/flexibility/stability exercises regularly
• Understand the importance of rest/recovery/sleep as an integral part of the training plan
• Adopt nutrition/hydration strategies that promote balance, variety, and moderation on and off the bike
• Accept failure/setbacks as an opportunity to improve
• Do the “hard things” like VO2max efforts
• Find joy in learning new things
• Adopt the mentality to stay active to add “life” to their years
• Surround themselves with supportive family, friends, teammates and yes, even coaches

As you can see, the athletes highlighted here are no different than their younger counterparts in terms of drive, desire, dedication, and focus. It’s important to dispel the idea that focused, structured training (including intensity!) is only for younger athletes. The key is to make that intensity appropriate for each athlete and balance it with adequate recovery time. In my experience, that balance is not formulaic and varies significantly from athlete to athlete, making personal coaching increasingly valuable for athletes in advanced age groups.

Additional Resources

Read more about riding and racing faster in Joel Friel’s Fast after 50 . Get to know the characteristics of the Super Ager here: Super Ager Characteristics