Nearing His Golden Years, He Is Going for the Gold : Cycling: Vic Copeland, 50, warms up for the Olympic Trials.

Vic Copeland is not your typical Olympian.

He’s just five years into his sport. He’s an optometrist. He’s 50.

But Copeland is, as far as he or anyone else around the Masters World Cup Cycling Championships knows, the oldest cyclist ever to compete in Olympic qualifying.

Copeland, from Rancho Santa Fe, won the men’s 50-plus sprint championship Friday at the San Diego Velodrome in Balboa Park, but that’s small potatoes compared to the prize that could await him in Barcelona, Spain.

Copeland leaves Sunday for Minneapolis to try to become the one U.S. qualifier in the kilometer and the match sprints. The kilo runs are Tuesday night, the match sprints on Wednesday morning.

He’s banking on the kilo, where his time of 1 minute 8.39 seconds is a world record for the 45-and-older set and a national record for the 30-and-older. The open world record rests at 1:03. He thinks he’ll go two seconds faster than his previous best at the Olympic Trials in Minneapolis, where the surface is wood and the turns are banked at 45 degrees, twice that of the San Diego Velodrome.

There’s a chance that in the match sprints, Copeland could face his son, Zac, 20, in the qualifying.

They’ve never met in competition, but Vic is ready in this mano a mano competition.

“He’s real powerful with a tremendously fast start and acceleration,” Copeland said of his son. “My forte is top-end speed and endurance. If we meet, he’s going to try to keep the pace down. If I (draw to) get in front, I’m going to try to take it out.”

Vic actually has Zac to thank for getting him involved in cycling. Five years ago, Zac became interested in cycling and needed a ride to the Velodrome. Dad was that ride. While Vic watched and waited, he was also getting cold as the evening progressed, so he took a bike with him just to keep his blood circulating. One thing led to another. Zac won a national championship and represented the U.S. in the Junior World Championships.

Copeland, well, he’s the father of two Olympic qualifiers. His daughter, Joany, 16, qualified for the kilo and match sprints. He’s also the owner of the 3,000-meter record in the 45-plus division.

Speaking of 3,000 meters, Copeland owes a lot of his success to distances. Long distances.

He has run 16 marathons and competed in five Ironman Triathlons in Hawaii from 1983-87. Then Zac became interested in cycling and Copeland needed to stay warm. Actually, he thinks his running background has allowed him to be among the best in the U.S. despite being twice the age of some of his competitors next week.

“One of the reasons I’m able to ride the kilo better than my competition is because of my running,” Copeland said. “It developed a superior circulatory system in my legs.”

The kilo is simply a mad dash toward the finish line, similar to the 400 meters in track. And in the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games, the winner is decided by just one ride. It’s a one-shot, make-or-break qualifying effort.

“I think I do like it (like that),” Copeland said. “I think that’s to my advantage. A lot of younger guys do good times and slow times--the tension that goes into preparing for the race affects their performance.

“I have a better overall view of life and tend to ride at my peak.”

Copeland’s view certainly seems happy-go-lucky. He certainly never expected to be in the position he is, about ready to qualify for the Olympic Games.

“It just snuck up on me,” he said. “I really hadn’t considered it until the Australian (200-meter champion John Kennedy) told me I could do it. At first I thought it was just Australian B.S. It really got me thinking. It’s pretty simple, but it was pretty profound at the time because I never thought about it.”

What he does think about is the Geritol generation.

“I think it’s good for all of society that older athletes are making noise,” Copeland said. “George Foreman, Mark Spitz, they were quite successful, relatively. When you get to the half-century mark is no reason to alter your life.

“Back in Kansas (growing up), you moved off the farm and closer to town, near the hospital so you could get ready to die.”