CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – A Charlottesville man is making his mark in the cycling world, rising to the top in age group.
Sixty-five-year-old Scott Paisley is a national champion in cyclocross, a type of bicycle racing.
Paisley says he has been cycling his whole life. He raced as a teenager, then took some time off, but decided to make a serious comeback.
“I was still riding a lot, and suddenly the idea of coming back and playing on the bike was attractive,” Paisley said.
However, cyclocross is not ordinary biking.
“I generally describe it as steeplechase with bicycles,” he said.
Cyclocross courses have a variety of obstacles and surfaces.Paisley won the Cyclocross National Championship in 2018, beating out all the competitors in the 60-to-64-year-old group.“I had no idea what to do. I never though that that would be me,” he said.Paisley won again this past season in the 65-to-69-year-old group. The bike he used is on display at his Blue Wheel Bike Shop in Charlottesville.“I don’t know how many people can say that, ‘In four years, I’m going to be really excited that I’m going turn 70 because I’m going to be the punk kid in my new age group,’” Paisley said.Paisley says he is motivated by other great cyclists who have come from central Virginia, including Ben King and Will Frishburn, who’ve taken part in the Tour de France.Paisley says he is now training for the World Cyclocross Championships, which are being held in Germany. Copyright 2023 WVIR. All rights reserved.
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