New Track Hour Record Set At Resurfaced Wellington Velodrome

Wellington's blue ribbon track cycling record has been broken for the first time in over two and a half years by Pat Crowe-Rishworth who notched up 42.229km on the newly resurfaced Wellington Velodrome in Hataitai last Friday, 18 December.

The record requires riders to cover as many laps as possible in 60 minutes, and is one of the most famously punishing events in track cycling. Crowe-Rishworth, 29, added a slender 40m to the mark laid down in 2017 by Emile Goguley.

Setting off on Friday evening with breezey northerlies, Crowe-Rishworth had a tight schedule to keep, aiming for 28.2second lap splits on the 333.3m long velodrome.

"Around the 40min mark I was cracking pretty hard," said the Te Aro local. "I’d been getting 'you’re under pace' signals from the officials and I got pretty stressed and lost focus."

"I started riding 29 second splits and desperately asking for information all the time. I was doing calculations in my head for what I needed to do."

"Then getting the signal I was still ahead of time at the 45min mark was a huge boost of positive energy. I got a really happy vibe on, and had good sensations in the legs. The last 20 laps was the easiest once I knew I could sneak over the target distance."

With the faster, smoother surface, more record attempts are expected at the Wellington Velodrome over summer, in addition to the new sprint records set by members of the Cycling New Zealand team who visited the track in November.

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