New Zealander to attempt World Masters Hour Record
New Zealander to attempt World Masters Hour
Record
August 3, 2015
New Zealander
Steve Bale will attempt to break the cycling World Masters
Hour Record on August 22, 2015 at the Avantidrome in
Cambridge, NZ.
Bale, 38, from Wellington, is aiming
to beat the current distance for masters 1 (35-39 year-olds)
of 48.317km set by Australian Jayson Austin in
2009.
Known more for his off road prowess, Bale is
the reigning masters 1 National Mountain Bike Champion and
won a bronze in the 2015 Oceania Championships.
A
self-confessed data geek, he was attracted to the purity of
cycling’s blue ribbon record, and broke the Wellington
Hour Record in March 2015 on the NZ capital’s outdoor
concrete velodrome.
“The Avantidrome has very few
external factors that can affect how far you go,” Bale
says. “It means the ride will be all about aerodynamics
and how much power I can produce on the
day.”
"I've been putting out promising numbers in
training and I'm confident of giving this record a really
good crack."
Bale has made the 16 hour return trip
from Wellington to Cambridge six times for testing and
training on the country’s newest indoor wooden velodrome,
refining his position and equipment.
His attempt
will establish a New Zealand masters 1 Hour Record but he is
also hoping to break the overall New Zealand mark which
stands at 50.226km but was set using the now illegal
‘superman’ position.
The Hour Record is one of
cycling’s most iconic events. First established in the
19th Century, riders have 60 minutes to notch up as many
laps as possible on a velodrome. It’s notoriously hard to
get the pacing right, and after his own effort in Mexico in
1972, five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx said it
was the “hardest ride I have ever done”. The current
world Hour Record holder is Bradley Wiggins who rode
54.526km in June 2015.
Steve Bale biography and
blog: https://stevebalescyclingblog.wordpress.com/about/
Twitter updates on the day: @bale_par
ends