A British man has broken a cycling speed record, hurtling down a runway at over 174 miles per hour (280 km/h) on a custom-made bike in what he called the “biggest rush you’ll ever experience.”
Neil Campbell, 45, broke the men’s record for fastest bicycle speed in a slipstream by seven miles per hour at an airfield in Yorkshire, England on Saturday, detaching his vehicle from the back of a Porsche and sailing down the track. The previous record was set by a Dutch rider in 1995.
Campbell, from Little Horkesley, Essex, was pulled along the two-mile track by the powerful Porsche Cayenne, and then released so he went through the timing gate under his own power.
He was timed at 174.33mph (280.55km/h) after going through the 200-metre speed trap on the cycle, which was built by Moss Bikes using 3D-printed components and parts from a motocross bike.
The Porsche had a large attachment on the rear which affected its aerodynamics, punching a hole through the air for Campbell to cycle in.
He said: “I am thrilled and relieved, the team worked amazingly well.”
His next challenge will be to try to reach 220mph next year on a six-mile track at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
He said: “This has been a five-year programme and the record was the culmination of one part of it.
“We have been bound by finances and budgeted to do what we can. Our plan is now to go to Bonneville and use a longer test track.”
