Andrey Demekhin: KMS at 52 years old and races every day

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Useful from the issue

1. KMS is real for the amateur

   At the track starts of the Cycling Race, amateurs officially perform ranks. We need systematic training with a trainer; first, the first adult category, then the CMC.

2. Without sudden load surges

   Anyone who rides at a low heart rate should not immediately go into a race. The body is prepared for extreme loads gradually.

3. Sleep mode after 50

   Andrey lies down and gets up at the same time: this is how he copes with poor sleep after hard training and racing.

4. Every day, but with different intensity

   Daily riding suits him, and he regulates the load by intensity, not by skipping workouts.

5. A club for your goal

   Some clubs are gathered for the sake of regular training, others for the sake of victories. If you want to go to the podium, look for a club where this is a common task and there is a base.

6. Miss the track

   In the summer, Andrei does not go to the track in order to return there with a desire for the autumn starts. Changing disciplines by season saves from burnout.

7. Sweet soda in crisis

   At the Tour de Selishchi 30 km before the finish, Andrei was returned to the race by a stake from an escort car. Fast carbs at the end of a long race help out.

Euphoria without whiskey

Andrey once worked in television, and now he is in the coffee business, but he calls amateur cycling the main meaning of his life. The journey began when he noticed that he confused the euphoria given by weekends with whiskey with the buzz from the exertion. A couple of rides at a high heart rate gave more pleasure, and the next morning he didn't feel bad. He quit alcohol about 8–10 years ago, and now it's his opponent: according to his observations, almost no one knows their limit.

The first races showed that he was almost holding on to those whom he considered strong, and this dragged on: more and more training, more and more results. Long videos on YouTube are not close to him — he likes the short reportage format, so he abandoned the channel.

KMS and the Russian Amateur Championship

Andrey fulfilled the CMC standard at the age of 52 at the Cycling Race track competitions, where amateurs can officially apply for the ranks. He does not consider it difficult: an amateur who trains systematically and listens to a coach may well do it, and experienced trackmen, according to him, fulfill the standard in many disciplines with a margin. There is only one limitation — first you need to get the first adult category, and only in the next season of the CMC.

At the first Russian Amateur Championship in Krylatskoye, Andrey became the second in the 45-54 category. The race is hard because of the constant ascents and descents, and with his weight it's not easy. Next year, they promise more such races, which means that mountain training and weight loss are mandatory in the spring.

The clubs he was in

Andrey's first club was Serpentine, where the coach laid the foundations and gave a phrase that Andrey still repeats before the race: we go all the way, and at the end we add. Then there was RCA with excellent discipline, and then he became one of the founders of the Magadan club, which for several seasons came out on top of the annual track standings. The goals set there were fulfilled, and Andrei decided that it was time to join a big club with a serious sports base.

Now he's in Volga Union. Commercial clubs, he explains, often go into physical education and daily training without the goal of winning, and in Volga Union the task is podiums for amateurs in all clusters. The club in Krylatskoe has everything needed: a track, locker rooms, exercise machines nearby, support vehicles for races, and the club itself, according to him, is officially registered as a cycling team. There are no requirements for amateurs upon joining: if there's a desire to win, the coaches will prepare, and Andrey takes care of motivation himself.

Campagnolo, tactics and favorite races

Andrey rides Campagnolo primarily in order to be different from everyone else, but he also praises the new 13-speed group: the sprint buttons at the bottom of the handles are convenient to press in the lower grip under load. He calls himself a station wagon without a clean sprint and without a mountain, with the "gas — brake" mode: the ideal scenario is to abruptly shift into the breakaway of the young, sit on the wheel and shoot at the finish line. He doesn't feel sorry for the criteria — it's too dangerous, his previous frame on them broke in several places.

He calls the Tour de Selishchi the most memorable race: after the first 30 km it was empty, but caught on to a breakaway with very strong riders and reached the podium. 30 km before the finish, he was saved by cola, which was poured from the escort car. Another peak is the third place in the absolute at the St. Petersburg Grand Fondo thanks to teamwork in isolation. Ilya shares his dream of one day holding a Tour de Selishchi officially, with overlaps, and Andrei promises to come. On the track, his favorite discipline is the kilometer: he started and went to everything, there is no need to think.

Recovery and health after 50

According to Andrey, those over 40-50 have more motivation than young people, but recovery is more difficult. A schedule suits him, in which he trains every or almost every day and regulates the intensity load. He solves problems with sleep by going to bed and getting up at the same time. He has no scheduled breaks — only forced ones due to illness.

When asked by a listener about heart problems, Andrey responds cautiously: everyone will have some issues found during examination, but systematic training strengthens the body. For him, races and maximum heart rate are motivation to train every day; without them, he would give up altogether. The main condition is not to make sudden jumps: if a person rides at a low heart rate, they can't immediately go for a race, the body needs to be prepared gradually.

Track, volumes, and life off the bike

Andrey's routine is clear: road cycling in the summer, track in the winter. In the summer, he deliberately avoids the track to miss it by the autumn competitions — his father taught him that pleasure must be earned. An indoor trainer and Zwift are boring for him, so instead, he rides a fatbike in the forests and reservoir near his dacha in the Ruza district, where he gradually attracted many cyclists. The volume goal is about 400 km per week, but with the transition to group training with the team, he increasingly counts hours. The most effective were summer training sessions at the dacha according to the program of a teammate. In Moscow, the track, according to him, has more people and strong racers, but clubs agree on the time and corridors.

Outside of sports, Andrey develops a coffee business: he puts coffee machines in offices for free and sells Italian coffee. His advice on coffee is to take the products of large factories with Rainforest Alliance certification: author's roasts can be interesting, but unstable. And life advice — it's better to do something, even if it's more expensive, than to save for a long time and not do it at all. So he once built his house right after the crisis of 1998.

Timestamps

1. 00:00Introduction
2. 00:58The path to cycling
3. 03:38Abstaining from alcohol
4. 05:40CMC at 52 years old
5. 06:28Russian Amateur Championship
6. 08:17Coaches and clubs
7. 10:36The club's sports base
8. 17:03Campagnolo and racer style
9. 19:32Coffee
10. 21:03Advice to the young
11. 25:00Recovery and health
12. 27:51Track or road
13. 32:09Goals for next year and favorite races
14. 36:46Volumes and favorite workouts
15. 39:54Volga Union: requirements and history

Mentioned in this episode

Volga Union · Cycling Race · Gran Fondo · Tour de Selishchi · Ladoga Gold · Mangazeya · Serpentine · RCA · Campagnolo · Krylatskoye