If you are over 40 and thinking of starting or restarting time trialling then the information in our Beginner’s Guide is relevant to you. In the UK we also have the Veterans Time Trials Association (VTTA), an organisation dedicated to providing events, competitions and awards for riders aged 40+. This may be of particular interest to you if you want to compete on an equal basis with other riders as the years go by.

The VTTA was formed in 1943 and has approximately 2600 members in its 16 regional groups. It promotes around 100 time trial events a year with preferential entry for its members, who are also eligible for the VTTA’s National Championships, season-long competitions and individual performance awards. The regional groups also run their own awards and competitions, and there are national and regional age records for all distances.

Competitors benefit from a system of age adjustments (also known as Standards) derived from a very large dataset of past performances. This provides a level playing field by giving an incrementally increasing time adjustment for each age over 40. For example, over 10 miles a 45 year old man has an adjustment of 21 seconds, and a 60 year old has an adjustment of 1 minute 45 seconds. So the 40 year man has to ride 1 minute 24 seconds faster than a 60 year old to beat him on Age Adjusted Time. Therefore riders from 40 to 90+ can compete fairly and directly against each other in time trials. Similar adjustments exist for women, tandems and trikes.

To find out more, visit the VTTA website www.vtta.org.uk. There you can find the regional group that covers your area and apply online. You can also see details of the various events and competitions and other helpful information.