History of Motor-paced Records
Motor pacing is a type of human-powered 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 96 km/h (60 mph) record at end of the 19th century. 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 175 km/h (108.92 mph) 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 204 km/h (127 mph) 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 223 km/h (139 mph) in 1973. John Howard, Olympic cyclist and Ironman triathlon winner, reset the record to 244 km/h (152 mph), also at the Bonneville Salt Flats, on July 20, 1985.
Fred Rompelberg from Maastricht, the Netherlands is the current holder of the motor paced speed world record cycling with 268.831 km/h (166.9 mph). He used a special bicycle behind a dragster of the Strasburg Drag Racing Team at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Read more about this topic: Cycling Records, Speed Record On A Bicycle
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