Merced’s Moore picking up where he left off in cycling

Brian Moore’s fire for competitive cycling was never fully extinguished.

The flames were allowed to dwindle over the years as the Merced Ob-Gyn walked away from the sport at age 30 to start a family and attend medical school. After almost 20 years of a successful medical practice and the raising of three daughters – Valerie, Stephanie and Delia – life had reduced that passion to little more than embers.

Moore and his wife, Patti – who used to be a pursuit cycling star – got their cycling fix by joining the Kevin’s Bikes cycling group, which has regular rides around Merced County. The little taste and some participation in the local road races provided fuel to the fire and Moore’s love of the sport was ignited once more. As his strength and endurance began to return to the levels they had once been a couple decades before, Moore decided it was time to up his game.

With only one Velodrome in all of Northern California, Moore started making the drive out to San Jose a few times a week. He picked up a coach in Lee Povey and joined Performance Cycle Coaching to get the most out of his training. Two years later, Moore is a national champion as he captured the 500-meter time trial crown at the USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships in Indianapolis for the 55-59 age group last week. He added a second-place finish in the match sprints competition and would have likely had another victory in a team competition that the weather washed out.

“I did velodrome racing when I was in college at Cal,” Moore said. “My last competitive race came when I was 30 and I won a national championship. I’m 56 now, so to be able to pick it back up and be a champion again 26 years later is very gratifying. I didn’t walk away from the sport because I burned out on it or anything like that. I was about to get married and start medical school, and I knew there wasn’t going to be time for everything.

“It finally seemed like a good time when I started back up last year. I’ve got a little more flexibility in my work schedule. The kids are pretty well grown and were in a good place in school. Unfortunately, the only velodrome in Northern California is in San Jose, but I’m really glad I started up again.”

A velodrome is an arena for track cycling that features banked oval tracks. It consists of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The sport is in the spotlight with competition going on at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Moore said it was the local rides that convinced him he could pick up the sport again.

“I could feel it when we were riding that my form and endurance were starting to come back to me,” Moore said. “After a number of years of riding with the group I was just getting fitter and fitter, but it’s a big jump from that to racing and track sprinting. It’s lower mileage but higher intensity. The only way to get better at it, however, is to actually ride on a velodrome, so I started making regular trips to the Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose.

“I trained really hard in the spring and winter and felt pretty good going into the races.”

Patti Moore, who has witnessed her husband both in his prime and on the recent comeback trail, said even she was impressed by his showing in Indianapolis.

“He really put in the effort this last year and it paid off,” she said. “He improved in every race, finishing second in the match sprint after taking fourth last year. He really nailed his start in the 500-meter time trial and won it all, moving up from eighth last year. He was even tied for second for best overall performance before his last race was canceled.

“We’re thrilled for him.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Merced’s Moore picking up where he left off in cycling."