53-year-old Darlington fireman wins third UCI World Masters title

Adrian Dent, a 53-year-old fireman from Darlington, has won two titles at this year’s UCI World Masters Track Championships in Manchester. The victories come seven years after he discovered a talent for sprinting at a track cycling taster session

Dent competed at the UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships in Manchester this month, taking individual gold in the men’s 500m time trial in the 50-54 age group after recording a time of 34.577. He was also part of the winning team sprint team for the 45-54 age bracket having also won the same event in 2013.

Speaking to the Darlington and Stockton Times, Dent described how he only took up track sprinting after discovering he had a talent for it during a velodrome taster session seven years ago. Since then, he has claimed four national titles and a European title in addition to his three international gold medals.

Dent trains just as any other track sprinter would with an emphasis on weight training and interval sessions.

“I train on the bike for about two hours at a time but I do short sessions in short bursts. Most of my training is done on what sprinters call a drag strip – a short piece of road where all-out maximum effort can be done to the point of exhaustion, and then long recovery periods are required before I do my next effort."