Maine cyclists excel at national senior event Bastide, Burpee combine for five medals

Two local men distinguished themselves as part of a successful trio of Maine cyclists at the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh June 6-12.

Todd Burpee of Bucksport and Marcel Bastide of Orrington both brought back medals: a gold and two silvers for Bastide and a silver and a bronze for Burpee.

Earning a berth at the Nationals was nothing new for Bastide. It was his third time at the bi-yearly Olympic-style event for senior citizens. It was a first for Burpee, however.

Bastide, competing in the ages 60-64 division among 49 other qualifiers, finished first in the 40-kilometer road race, second in the 5K time trials with a time of 7 minutes, 45 seconds; second in the 20K road race, and fourth in the 10K time trials. It was the first time Bastide had lost the Nationals 20K. He won the race in 2001 and 2003.

“I prefer the road racing because there is more strategy in it,” Bastide said. “He outsmarted me in the 20K, but I guess it was my brains that helped me in the 40K because I was tired at the end.”

The 61-year-old Bastide first got into the sport 14 years ago after his son became interested. It was something the two of them could do together.

The 54-year-old Burpee, who competed in the ages 50-54 division with more than 50 others, earned a silver in the 10K time trials (16:19) and a third-place finish in the 5K trials (7:22). He was 13th in the 20K race and 11th in the 40K.

“I trained specifically for the time trials and those are what I like better. They’re rather short, but very intense races,” said Burpee, who was initially reluctant to get involved in competitive cycling before giving in to Bastide’s urging. “As I got more involved in cycling and more comfortable with it, I decided to try it. I’m glad I did.”

The two men, who frequently ride together since they live only about 200 yards apart, helped bring back five of the nine medals won by Maine’s cycling contingent, which also included a woman from southern Maine. Maine’s entire medal count for all sports was 11 four years ago and 13 in 2003.

Both finished either first or second in their events at the Maine Senior Games at Cape Elizabeth last September to earn Nationals invitations.

They both credited local businesses (the Ski Rack in Bangor and Rose Bicycle in Orono) for their support.