Gearing up for a world championship

By 4:45 most mornings, David Grice is on his bicycle in the gym and starting a three-hour training run. He will train again in the afternoon.

A resident of Asheville, N.C., 43-year-old Grice has been racing for 26 years. He has won well over 250 races, and at least 20 championships in the Carolinas. At the end of August, he’ll take on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Championships in St. Johann, Austria. He won that race in 2003. Can he win again?

“In 2003, I had a bad crash early in the year and was off the bike for a few months. But then I came back in August and won the World Championships in Austria—the biggest event for amateurs in the world,” said the South Carolina native. “Early this year, I fell down some steps and was off the bike for a while. I’m hoping I can come back from that injury, too.”

A 1984 business administration graduate, Grice ran on the USC Aiken cross-country team and, after he transferred to USC Columbia, raced bikes. Now he trains 25 to 30 hours a week, mostly in the morning before he begins his day as a financial advisor with Smith Barney. He competes in the masters division. The competition, he said, is pretty steep.

“The guys who were really good at 25 years old are still really good at 40. You don’t see a big difference until guys hit about 50. Plus, in the Worlds, you compete with a number of European pros.”

Racing for a living did cross Grice’s mind while he was a Carolina student.
“I love it, but I also know that professional racers are only one crash from being unemployed,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of success and fun as an amateur, and I’ve beaten a lot of good riders and pros, but I’m happy to pursue it as an amateur. I plan to compete as long as I stay healthy.”