Italian who returned to cycle racing in Hong Kong, 20 years after retiring, tells us how he trains and stays motivated
Fresh from a five-day race in Thailand he lost by a few seconds to a pro cyclist 14 years his junior, Paolo Caputo explains why he got back in the saddle and what keeps his competitive juices flowing
Rarely does someone have the opportunity to put their athletic career on hold only to pick it up again decades later. Fewer still return to competition or take home trophies that second time around. Paolo Caputo, a 42-year-old Italian expat in Hong Kong, a competitive cyclist as a youth, has done just that.
Caputo fell in love with cycling at an early age. “I raced my first road race at 10 years old and went on until 16, racing all over Italy. I won about 100 trophies, various regional championships, and won over 50 races.”
However successful his athletic career looked, Caputo put down his bike in 1990 to finish his education. In 2002, he moved to Hong Kong and started a job with coffee manufacturer Lavazza a day after arriving. The job lasted a few years before he started working for an Italian company that specialises in toys and collectibles.
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Twenty years after retiring from competitive racing, married and with a nine-year-old daughter, Caputo had a happy professional and personal life but felt something was missing.
Why did you get back into cycling?
Back in 2010 my daughter was two and we moved from Causeway Bay to Clear Water Bay. The reconnection with nature, and the need to detach my family life from the urban chaos of Hong Kong, made me suddenly realise it was the bike I was missing. I decided to go back to cycling.