Champion Masters cyclist John Elgart's workout has three parts: riding, riding and more riding

Everyone slows down with age, but at 60, Masters cyclist John Elgart is nearly as fast as he was in his 30s and still winning national championships. His secret: taking the sport -- and winning -- less seriously than he did when he was younger. "Winning isn't all that important now," said Elgart, of Sacramento, Calif., who has 14 national championship titles under his belt. "I think people do get too serious about it and too competitive and they get too uptight."

Adopting a more lighthearted attitude to competition has had a positive impact on Elgart's training, which, ironically, has appeared to translate into more wins. "Training is a lot easier for me now because it's more fun," said Elgart, who at 5 feet, 10 inches tall, maintains a wiry 155-pound physique. "Now, I think I do it for the lifestyle, the health benefits and the adventure."

A key ingredient to that sense of adventure is cyclocross, which Elgart added to his regular repertoire of road, criterium and time trial racing a few years ago. Cyclocross is a cross between mountain biking and the more traditional criterium and road races done on pavement.

Cyclocross competitions are typically 30 minutes to an hour. The race consists of multiple laps performed on a 1.5- to 2-mile course. The course includes pavement, as well as extremely rough terrain -- dirt trails, deep mud, grass and steep hills.

Obstacles such as rocks and stairs litter the course, requiring riders to dismount the bike, carry it and run until they can get on the bike again. "Cyclocross is definitely the most fun," Elgart said. It also has the added benefit of being a great cross-training workout -- cardio and strength-training rolled into one.

Last year, in addition to winning the 56-kilometer Masters men's road race at the USA Cycling National Festival, Elgart, won his age category in the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championship. At the 2007 USA Cycling National Festival in July, Elgart won the 30-mile individual criterium race and the 40-mile tandem road race with Webcor-AltoVelo racing club teammate Larry Wolf.

Currently, he is training to defend his cyclocross title at this year's national championship in Kansas City, Mo., in December. For Elgart, race training doubles as recreation. It helps that Elgart's wife, Linda is a lso a Masters cyclist and cyclocross national champion. The couple trains and even competes together, entering the occasional tandem bike race.

Every Tuesday, the couple drives an hour from their Sacramento home to the Sierra Nevadas where they meet their casual cycling club, Tuesday Velo, for a weekly adventure ride on gravel, dirt and pavement. "We'll do 6,000 to 8,000 feet of climbing in a four- to six-hour day," said Elgart. "We have some differences in ability among the group, but I think everybody has fun."

The Elgarts train together throughout the week, aiming for a total of 13 hours of cycling. Currently, they are training for the fall to early winter cyclocross season. During the road race season ( January to August), Elgart also lifts light free weights (using 20 pound dumbbells) twice a week at a nearby gym to maintain the core and upper body strength that he builds naturally during the cyclocross season. Here's a typical week of workouts during the cyclocross season.

Monday
Mondays are usually light days. Often, the Elgarts will ride for an hour on flat roads around their house. Other times, they head to a nearby trail to work on cyclocross techniques, such as mounting and dismounting in one fluid motion, carrying the bike over an obstacle, or running uphill with the bike.

Tuesday
The Elgarts meet their adventure club for the weekly all-terrain ride through the Sierra Nevadas. The goal is to do 6,000 to 8,000 feet of climbing in four to six hours. Often the toughest of the week, it is a total body workout on steep, often rough, terrain, rife with obstacles. During the ride, he pays particular attention to his cadence. "By raising your cadence especially on the climb, you can improve your power and efficiency," said Elgart, who maintains that great riders are born with better than average aerobic capacity. "You're not going to improve your aerobic uptake very much, but power and efficiency are the two things you can improve."

Wednesday
The Elgart's work together as sales representatives for Voler, a cycling apparel company. Typically they spend Wednesdays and Thursdays on the road, calling on stores and cycling clubs in northern California and northern Nevada. They pack their bikes and try to fit in morning and evening rides, for a total of two hours of exercise. Training depends on where they are traveling, so they have learned to be flexible. Sometimes, they'll tag along with another club that is holding a training ride, and work on interval and sprint training. Other days, they will ride their bikes along a coastal road, selecting routes with an incline. During cyclocross season, the Elgarts often hunt for trails and practice dismounts and remounts in an open field. "Sometimes we'll set up a course simulation (erecting obstacles to climb over) and go around and around," he said.

Thursday
Elgart does the same workout as Wednesday.

Friday
On Fridays, Elgart repeats Monday's workout, or if there is a race on Saturday -- and there usually is -- he takes a day off.

Saturday
Saturday is race day. During cyclocross season, the races are on a cyclocross course. From January to August, Elgart competes -- and wins -- in a variety of races. The races include criterium (multiple laps performed on a short circuit of 1 to 2 miles on paved road for a total of 25 to 60 miles); road races (typically, long and hilly courses on pavement); tandem races (road or criterium races performed on a tandem bike -- he and Linda are a winning team); and time trials on a variety of courses.

Sunday
The Elgarts drive into the mountains for a four-hour bike ride with friends. They alternate weekly between road racing on paved roads and cylocross, biking on a variety of terrain.