Certified and recognized cycling records are those verified by the Union Cycliste Internationale, International Human Powered Vehicle Association and World Human Powered Vehicle Association, Guinness World Records, International Olympic Committee, World UltraCycling Association (formerly Ultra Marathon Cycling Association), the UK Road Records Association or other accepted authorities.
Most records have been completed under special rules and circumstances, such as being motor-paced, on terrain advantageous for speed (such as downhill or low-friction surfaces), using a bicycle with one gear (for example, single-speed bicycles) or using highly aerodynamic cycles (for example, recumbent bicycles). As cycling is a diverse activity with vast differences between equipment, disciplines, and terrain, there is no one record that can popularly be considered a benchmark for “fastest cyclist”. The hour record is generally considered the most prestigious, due to its long history and standardization of rules.
Top speed record The table below shows the records people have attained while riding bicycles.
Land speed record (outdoor) Name Year Speed Type of recordDenise Mueller-Korenek2018Flat surface (outdoor), motor-paced Neil Campbell 2019 280.571 km/h (174.339 mph) Flat surface (outdoor), motor-paced, male. Éric Barone 2017 Downhill on snow (outdoor), unpaced, on a prototype bicycle Éric Barone 2015 Downhill on snow (outdoor), unpaced, on a prototype bicycle Éric Barone 2000 Downhill on snow (outdoor), unpaced, on a prototype bicycle Markus Stöckl 2007 Downhill on snow (outdoor), unpaced, on a serial production bicycle Markus Stöckl 2017 Downhill on a volcano (outdoor), unpaced, on a serial production bicycle Todd Reichert 2016 Slight downhill (-0.6% grade) (outdoor), on a Faired Recumbent, unpaced
Treadmill speed record (indoor) Name Year Speed Type of record Bruce Bursford 1996 Flat surface (indoor), Virtual "motor-paced" (Pedaling on bicycle rollers after being "towed" to 100 mph)
History of unpaced records The International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) acts as the sanctioning body for new records in human-powered land, water, and air vehicles. It registers non-motor-paced records (also called unpaced), which means that the bicycle directly faces the wind without any motor-pacing vehicle in front.
On land, the speed record registered by a rider on a 200-meter flying start speed trial was by the Canadian Sam Whittingham riding the Varna Tempest, a streamliner recumbent bicycle in 2009, at Battle Mountain, Nevada. His record has been surpassed by 0.5 km/h by Sebastiaan Bowier of the Netherlands in 2013 setting the new record of . The record was again surpassed on 19 September 2015 by Todd Reichert by riding the ETA, a streamlined recumbent bicycle at from the team behind the AeroVelo Atlas human-powered helicopter. Todd Reichert broke his own record again on September 17, 2016, to set a speed of at the 2016 WHPSC.
The female record holder for this same category was Lisa Vetterlein, who reached in 2005. This record was beaten by Barbara Buatois of France, when she reached at Battle Mountain in 2009. She subsequently achieved at the 2010 running of the Battle Mountain event. This record was beaten on 13 sept 2019 by Ilona Peltier of France, at at the 2019 WHPSC event.
History of motor-paced records
Motor pacing is a type of cycling record where a pace vehicle is modified by adding a tail fairing to keep the wind off the cyclist who is riding behind it. This type of record was invented by Charles "Mile-a-Minute Murphy" who drafted a train to set a record in 1899. A mile of plywood sheets was attached to the railroad ties, so Charles would have a smooth surface riding behind the train.
In 1928, Leon Vanderstuyft from Belgium reached 122 km/h riding behind a motorbike at a velodrome. Alexis Blanc-Garin from France set the record to 128.20 km/h in October 1933 riding behind a motorbike. Albert Marquet, from France, reached 139.90 km/h riding behind a car in 1937. On 22 October 1938, Alfred Letourneur reached 147 km/h at a velodrome in Montlhéry, France, riding behind a motorbike. On 17 May 1941 Letourneur broke the record again, reaching on a Schwinn bicycle riding behind a specially equipped midget racer, on a Los Angeles freeway near Bakersfield, California.
The first to surpass 200 km/h was the Frenchman Jose Meiffret in 1962, when he reached behind a Mercedes-Benz 300SL car on a German motorway.
Allan Abbott, a cycling enthusiast and motorcycle racer, elevated the motor-paced bicycle speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, reaching in 1973. John Howard, Olympic cyclist and Ironman triathlon winner, reset the record to , also at the Bonneville Salt Flats, on 20 July 1985.
Fred Rompelberg from Maastricht, Netherlands was the holder of the motor-paced speed world record cycling with from 1995 to 2018. He used a special bicycle behind a dragster of the Strasburg Drag Racing Team at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Denise Mueller-Korenek claimed a women's bicycle land speed record at at the Bonneville Salt Flats on 10 September 2016. Mueller was coached by former record holder John Howard. On 17 September 2018, again at Bonneville, she took the outright world record, riding a special KHS bike with a 62Tx12T gear (488 gear-inches) to a new overall record top speed of 183. behind a converted rail dragster with a fairing.
History of downhill records During the last decade of the 20th century, two Frenchmen, Éric Barone and Christian Taillefer, set the speed record descending on snow several times. On 28 March 2015, Éric Barone reached at Vars ski resort, France, besting his own record from 2000, using a specially designed prototype bicycle. In 2017 Barone achieved a new downhill record on snow reaching 227.72 km/h using a prototype bicycle.
Using a serial production bicycle, as opposed to prototype bicycles, the record holder is Markus Stöckl from Austria. He set a world speed record in 1999 on snow, descending at at Les Arcs. On 14 September 2007, Stöckl rode an Intense M6 mountainbike down the ski slope of La Parva, Chile, reaching the current record of .
The top descending speeds have always been obtained on snow. Apart from that, the ashes of a volcano have been the other surface used. In November 2001, Éric Barone descended on the Cerro Negro volcano in Nicaragua at , beating his previous record achieved in Hawaii in 1999. Barone believed he could do more, and returned to the same location on 12 May 2002 when he reached on a serial production bicycle and , on a prototype bicycle, a world record. Markus Stöckl did beat the serial production bicycle record in 2011 when he reached on a volcano in Nicaragua and again in 2017 when he reached down a volcano in Chile. The prototype bicycle record, on a volcano, still belongs to Barone.
One hour record
The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. The most famous type of record is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Hour-record attempts are made in a velodrome, frequently at high elevation for the aerodynamic benefit of thinner air. Between 1997 and 2014 the UCI retrospectively restricted hour record competitors to roughly the same equipment as was used by Eddy Merckx in his 1972 record. In 2014, the UCI changed the hour record rules to permit using any upright bike allowed for endurance track events. However, other retrospective changes to hour record regulations are why the current hour records are not the farthest absolute distance.
The UCI hour records are: UCI men's record: Filippo Ganna , 2022, UCI women's record: Vittoria Bussi , 2023,
Another type of record registered by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) and the World Human Powered Vehicle Association (WHPVA) is for human-powered machines, typically fully streamlined recumbent bicycles. These feature a lower frontal area than a UCI bicycle due to their recumbent seating design of the rider. They enclose the rider and machine in aerodynamic shapes made of carbon fiber, Kevlar, or fiberglass to reduce air resistance. A further type of record is for partially streamlined recumbents, which are open but have either a windshield in front or a streamlined tail-box in the rear. This is registered by the World Recumbent Racing Association (WRRA).
Streamlined recumbent bicycle (bicycle and rider enclosed in an aerodynamic shell): Francesco Russo of Switzerland set a new World Record by covering in one hour at the DEKRA test track in Germany on 2 August 2011. This record is approved by the WHPVA. On 19 July 2009, Sam Whittingham at the Ford Motor Company's 5-mile oval test track in Romeo, Michigan, achieved 90.598 km. This record was approved by the IHPVA and WHPVA committees. Non-streamlined Recumbent Bicycle (no shell, only disk wheels, and rider sitting on top frame). The best mark was achieved by Aurelien Bonneteau, a French rider at the Bordeaux velodrome. He rode a bicycle with a nearly horizontal seat to allow his back to lie flat, two standard sized wheels, an elliptical chainring, and shortened pedal arms to reduce the air volume swept out by his legs. His distance was , on 16 July 2014.
24 hours record Please note that some records are made with at least one of the following beneficial factors: streamlined bicycles, being part of a 4x4 relay team, being in other aerodynamically favorable conditions such as behind trucks, special support teams, supplements etc. Different race locations (including elevation), weather conditions, etc. all do come into play.
Men's road records NameType of recordDistanceTimeDatePlaceNotes & ref.Charles Terront Claim 1879 George Pilkington Mills c. 1890 Cyril Heppleston Road c. 1938 Hubert Opperman Road 5 December 1939Melbourne, Australia Roy Cromack Road 24 hours1969UK Andreas Clavedertcher(Liechtenstein)Road24 hours Michael Secrest Race Track1944 kilometers (1216 mi) 24 hours 26/27 April 1990 Phoenix Raceway, USOutdoors in US by drafting behind 18 wheel truck Jure RobičRoad 24 hours 19 September 2004Near Moravske Toplice, SloveniaFlat 17.44 km circuit.(34.78 km/h) Jean-Pascal Roux Road24 hours18 June 2009Caderousse, FranceAndy Wilkinson UK time trial24 hours24/25 June 2011 Stanislav Verstovšek Road 24 hours 2 October 2020Dobrovnik, SloveniaChristoph Strasser Road 24 hours16 July 2021Zeltweg, AustriaChristian von Ascheberg Human powered vehicle (HPV)land distance 24 hours 1 August 2010DEKRA test track, GermanyIn a Milan SL velomobile
Women's road record Beatrice Grimshaw claimed to have broken the women's road record c. 1900 however the distance ridden is unclear, no authority has recognised the record and there are doubts about her claim. Edith Atkins set the women's road record at on 12 July 1953. Christine Moody set the women's record at in July 1969. Sandy Earl set a new road record at on 14 August 2011. Maria Parker set a new recumbent road record at on 13 October 2012. Amanda Coker set a new road record at on 23 October 2021 becoming the first woman in history to break 500 miles in 24 hours.
Men's track record Dr Mitchell Anderson set the 24 hour outdoor track record at at the AARC in Wensleydale, Victoria, Australia on 30 March 2018. Ralph Diseviscourt set the 24 hour outdoor track record at in Vianden, Luxembourg on 11 July 2020. Christoph Strasser set the indoor track record at at Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen, Switzerland on 14–15 October 2017.
Women's track record Petra von Fintel set the women's human powered vehicle (HPV) land distance record at in 24 hours in a Milan velomobile at Klettwitz, Germany on 12 July 2015. In July 2018 Nici Walde claims to have ridden at the Opel Test Center in Rodgau-Dudenhofen, Germany. however the ride is yet to be recognised by the World Human Powered Vehicle Association.