List of cycling records


Certified and recognized cycling records are those verified by the Union Cycliste Internationale, International Human Powered Vehicle Association and World Human Powered Vehicle Association, Guinness World Records, International Olympic Committee, World UltraCycling Association, the UK Road Records Association or other accepted authorities.
Most records have been completed under special rules and circumstances, such as being motor-paced, on terrain advantageous for speed, using a bicycle with one gear or using highly aerodynamic cycles. As cycling is a diverse activity with vast differences between equipment, disciplines, and terrain, there is no one record that can popularly be considered a benchmark for “fastest cyclist”. The hour record is generally considered the most prestigious, due to its long history and standardization of rules.

Top speed record

The table below shows the records people have attained while riding bicycles.

Land speed record (outdoor)

Treadmill speed record (indoor)

History of unpaced records

The International Human Powered Vehicle Association acts as the sanctioning body for new records in human-powered land, water, and air vehicles. It registers non-motor-paced records, which means that the bicycle directly faces the wind without any motor-pacing vehicle in front.
On land, the speed record registered by a rider on a 200-meter flying start speed trial was by the Canadian Sam Whittingham riding the Varna Tempest, a streamliner recumbent bicycle in 2009, at Battle Mountain, Nevada. His record has been surpassed by 0.5 km/h by Sebastiaan Bowier of the Netherlands in 2013 setting the new record of. The record was again surpassed on 19 September 2015 by Todd Reichert by riding the ETA, a streamlined recumbent bicycle at from the team behind the AeroVelo Atlas human-powered helicopter. Todd Reichert broke his own record again on September 17, 2016, to set a speed of at the 2016 WHPSC.
The female record holder for this same category was Lisa Vetterlein, who reached in 2005. This record was beaten by Barbara Buatois of France, when she reached at Battle Mountain in 2009. She subsequently achieved at the 2010 running of the Battle Mountain event. This record was beaten on 13 sept 2019 by Ilona Peltier of France, at at the 2019 WHPSC event.

History of motor-paced records

Motor pacing is a type of cycling 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 record in 1899. 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 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 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 in 1973. John Howard, Olympic cyclist and Ironman triathlon winner, reset the record to, also at the Bonneville Salt Flats, on 20 July 1985.
Fred Rompelberg from Maastricht, Netherlands was the holder of the motor-paced speed world record cycling with from 1995 to 2018. He used a special bicycle behind a dragster of the Strasburg Drag Racing Team at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Denise Mueller-Korenek claimed a women's bicycle land speed record at at the Bonneville Salt Flats on 10 September 2016. Mueller was coached by former record holder John Howard. On 17 September 2018, again at Bonneville, she took the outright world record, riding a special KHS bike with a 62Tx12T gear to a new overall record top speed of 183. behind a converted rail dragster with a fairing.

History of downhill records

During the last decade of the 20th century, two Frenchmen, Éric Barone and Christian Taillefer, set the speed record descending on snow several times. On 28 March 2015, Éric Barone reached at Vars ski resort, France, besting his own record from 2000, using a specially designed prototype bicycle. In 2017 Barone achieved a new downhill record on snow reaching 227.72 km/h using a prototype bicycle.
Using a serial production bicycle, as opposed to prototype bicycles, the record holder is Markus Stöckl from Austria. He set a world speed record in 1999 on snow, descending at at Les Arcs. On 14 September 2007, Stöckl rode an Intense M6 mountainbike down the ski slope of La Parva, Chile, reaching the current record of.
The top descending speeds have always been obtained on snow. Apart from that, the ashes of a volcano have been the other surface used. In November 2001, Éric Barone descended on the Cerro Negro volcano in Nicaragua at, beating his previous record achieved in Hawaii in 1999. Barone believed he could do more, and returned to the same location on 12 May 2002 when he reached on a serial production bicycle and, on a prototype bicycle, a world record. Markus Stöckl did beat the serial production bicycle record in 2011 when he reached on a volcano in Nicaragua and again in 2017 when he reached down a volcano in Chile. The prototype bicycle record, on a volcano, still belongs to Barone.

One hour record

The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. The most famous type of record is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale. Hour-record attempts are made in a velodrome, frequently at high elevation for the aerodynamic benefit of thinner air. Between 1997 and 2014 the UCI retrospectively restricted hour record competitors to roughly the same equipment as was used by Eddy Merckx in his 1972 record. In 2014, the UCI changed the hour record rules to permit using any upright bike allowed for endurance track events. However, other retrospective changes to hour record regulations are why the current hour records are not the farthest absolute distance.
The UCI hour records as of 2023 are:
Another type of record registered by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association and the World Human Powered Vehicle Association is for human-powered machines, typically fully streamlined recumbent bicycles. These feature a lower frontal area than a UCI bicycle due to their recumbent seating design of the rider. They enclose the rider and machine in aerodynamic shapes made of carbon fiber, Kevlar, or fiberglass to reduce air resistance. A further type of record is for partially streamlined recumbents, which are open but have either a windshield in front or a streamlined tail-box in the rear. This is registered by the World Recumbent Racing Association.
  • Streamlined recumbent bicycle : Francesco Russo of Switzerland set a new World Record by covering in one hour at the DEKRA test track in Germany on 2 August 2011. This record is approved by the WHPVA. On 19 July 2009, Sam Whittingham at the Ford Motor Company's 5-mile oval test track in Romeo, Michigan, achieved 90.598 km. This record was approved by the IHPVA and WHPVA committees. In 2008, Damjan Zabovnik achieved 87.123 km
  • Non-streamlined Recumbent Bicycle. The best mark was achieved by Aurelien Bonneteau, a French rider at the Bordeaux velodrome. He rode a bicycle with a nearly horizontal seat to allow his back to lie flat, two standard sized wheels, an elliptical chainring, and shortened pedal arms to reduce the air volume swept out by his legs. His distance was, on 16 July 2014.

    24 hours record

Please note that some records are made with at least one of the following beneficial factors: streamlined bicycles, being part of a 4x4 relay team, being in other aerodynamically favorable conditions such as behind trucks, special support teams, supplements etc. Different race locations, weather conditions, etc. all do come into play.

Men's road records

Women's road record

  • Beatrice Grimshaw claimed to have broken the women's road record c. 1900 however the distance ridden is unclear, no authority has recognised the record and there are doubts about her claim.
  • Edith Atkins set the women's road record at on 12 July 1953.
  • Christine Moody set the women's record at in July 1969.
  • Sandy Earl set a new road record at on 14 August 2011.
  • Maria Parker set a new road record at on 13 October 2012.
  • Amanda Coker set a new road record at on 23 October 2021 becoming the first woman in history to break 500 miles in 24 hours.

    Men's track record

  • Dr Mitchell Anderson set the 24 hour outdoor track record at at the AARC in Wensleydale, Victoria, Australia on 30 March 2018.
  • Ralph Diseviscourt set the 24 hour outdoor track record at in Vianden, Luxembourg on 11 July 2020.
  • Christoph Strasser set the indoor track record at at Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen, Switzerland on 14–15 October 2017.

    Women's track record

  • Petra von Fintel set the women's human powered vehicle land distance record at in 24 hours in a Milan velomobile at Klettwitz, Germany on 12 July 2015. In July 2018 Nici Walde claims to have ridden at the Opel Test Center in Rodgau-Dudenhofen, Germany. however as of 2018 the ride is yet to be recognised by the World Human Powered Vehicle Association.
  • Elena Novikova set the women's indoor track record at, average speed at Velodromo Fassa Bortolo Montichiari, Brescia, Italy on 17 September 2017.
  • Seana Hogan regained the women's outdoor track record at, average speed at Hellyer Park Velodrome San Jose, California, United States on 4 May 2012.