Seb Kay reports on a unique world record at the Lea Valley Velodrome.
Double Olympic Champion James Cracknell raised the bar set by Team GB at the recent UCI Track Cycling World Championships by setting a new hour world record in aid of Sport Relief at the Lee Valley Velodrome. The biennial charity event raised a total of £56,984,007.
The self-set challenge was similar to the 2015 feat of Sir Bradley Wiggins, who smashed the UCI track record for the longest distance ridden in one hour. However, unlike Wiggins, former Olympic rower Cracknell was riding a Raleigh Chopper, a cultural and ever-nostalgic icon so often associated with the 1970s era.
The 43-year-old, who suffered a life threatening accident in 2010 after colliding with a truck during an attempt to cycle, row, run and swim from Los Angeles to New York within 18 days, broke the former record of 19.8 miles set by Matt Richardson in May last year.
Despite retaining many of the common traits of the original Chopper, Cracknell’s bike featured a small number of modifications including racing handlebars, a fixed gear, thinner and larger wheels and clipless pedals – crucially, however, the classic Chopper saddle remained.
After smashing the record by two miles, Cracknell tweeted, “Man, there’s easier ways to go 21.8mls in an hour. Chopper didn’t let me down, only my legs. The crowd supporting Sport Relief were amazing.”
Simultaneously, Cracknell was also part of a relay team including former track and field athlete Sally Gunnell, former journalist and political aide Alistair Campbell, sports presenter Mike Bushell, former Chopper-record holder Matt Richardson as well as a host of amateur club cyclists who set a new Guinness World Record for the most people to cycle a 1km time trial in one hour.
The team managed to have 41 riders complete a kilometre each, with Gunnell completing an extra one to add an extra rider to their efforts which was enough to secure the world record and raise even more money for charitable cause.
