A LAPWORTH cyclist has just set a new world record for the fastest 100km bike ride – despite being hit by a car during his training.
Peter Horton, aged 51, beat the world record in his age category (51-59) on May 6 by five minutes with a time of just two hours and 57 seconds.
He is one of the few UK citizens to achieve a world cycling record.
But his advances toward the record were cut short after he was hit by a car in Solihull on August 31 – his wedding anniversary – after returning from the world championships.
He suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and broken finger.
He began training for the world record attempt from the beginning of last October – despite sustaining serious injuries just over a month before.
After overcoming several personal obstacles – such as his wife falling ill – he travelled to North Carolina to prepare for and eventually achieve the world record.
Peter, describing his push for the record, said: “I had a few hours sleep and I prepped the bike to go for the record the next morning.
“We started the record attempt at 8am and I based my effort on a predetermined speed which I kept to.
“The weather conditions were extremely hot and after one lap I was ahead of schedule but tried to rein in any surges in power so I didn’t blow and not finish. The wind picked up for the last hour which made it more challenging.
“The best bit was the last half hour where I pushed more around 24mph as I felt I was close to the line.”
Before his record attempt Peter qualified and rode for Great Britain in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Gran Fondo world championships road race in France last year.
And despite his injury, he had entered the world 24 hour cycling championships in California at the beginning of November and decided to compete despite having only restricted use of his left arm and having missed weeks of training.
Under miracle circumstances, he got back on his bike a week before the championship but still managed to finish 14th overall in his age category.
He says cycling has always been one of his many sporting obsessions.
He said: “I restarted cycling five years ago to get fit for offshore yacht racing which is another passion of mine.
“I plan to continue cycling for as long as I can. It feels great to be world record holder and I’m looking forward to hopefully qualify again for the GB cycling team for the world championships in Italy later this year.”
