26 Seconds: Inside the Bike Fit That Helped a Comeback Cyclist Win a National Title
In November 2025, Guy Preston walked into the APEX Performance Center in Boulder, Colorado, with a clear goal: win the USA Cycling 60-64 men's individual time trial national championship in 2026.
It wasn't his first attempt. Guy had finished third at nationals in June 2025, racing back from being hit by a car in December 2024. By the time he booked his session with APEX, he was also recovering from a second crash that August. He came to Boulder for a 3D TT bike fit, an AiRO aerodynamics analysis, and a FUEL physiology test, hoping to close the gap between third place and the top of the podium.
Eight months later, he won by 26 seconds.
Finding the Watts That Were Already There
APEX coaches Jeff Hoobler and Neal Henderson led the fit. Jeff, who specializes in strength and movement assessment, evaluated Guy's physical capabilities while Neal measured his TT bike to establish a starting point. From there, the team combined Jeff's assessment, Guy's on-bike kinematics, and AiRO's aerodynamic simulation to map out where Guy's position was costing him speed.
UCI rules limited how far his position could change, but there was still room to work with. Guy's baseline came back at a CdA of .228, already a reasonably aero number. The problem was his physiology testing: he didn't have the raw power to out-muscle his competition at that drag number. He needed to get faster without producing more watts.
The fix came from two changes: extending his elbow and hand reach, and switching helmets. Together, they brought his CdA down to .201.
That 0.027 reduction works out to roughly 40 fewer watts required to hold the same speed. For a masters athlete without an unlimited power ceiling, that's not a marginal gain. It's the difference between racing for a podium and racing to win.
Fitting the Engine to the Aerodynamics
The FUEL test rounded out the picture. It showed Guy was highly efficient at burning fat for fuel and gave the team target heart rate, power, and perceived-effort zones to train by, adjusted for Boulder's altitude versus his sea-level racing. Guy left that first session having signed on for ongoing coaching with APEX.
The results compounded from there. In February, Guy opened his 2026 season with a time trial win and an overall general classification victory at the Valley of the Sun stage race in Arizona. He carried that form through a series of podiums and wins into the summer.
On June 29, 2026, at the USA Cycling Masters National Championships near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Guy won the 60-64 men's individual time trial, a 22km (13.8 mile) course, in 29:20, 26 seconds ahead of second place.
One Story Among Several
Guy's result wasn't an outlier for APEX's 2026 season. The team also ran AiRO analysis for that year's junior and U23 men's time trial national champions, five other masters national champions across individual and team pursuit events, and the 17-18 men's junior national criterium champion.
A fit doesn't guarantee a title. But when a rider's aerodynamics, physiology, and coaching are all pointed in the same direction, the numbers tend to follow. Guy's CdA drop from .228 to .201 is the kind of gain that shows up on a stopwatch, not just a spec sheet, and it's exactly what AiRO's CFD-based aero analysis is built to find: real drag reductions a fitter can act on, without a wind tunnel.
This story draws on reporting from APEX Coaching, written by founder Neal Henderson, whose team has used AiRO's aerodynamic analysis platform since 2025. Read the article here: Apex Cycling If you're a fitter or coach interested in bringing wind tunnel-level aero data into your own studio, reach out to learn about becoming an AiRO partner.
