Pete Penseyres

Pete Penseyres is an American cyclist who was the winner of Race Across America in 1984 and 1986, setting a world record of in 8 days, 9 hours, and 47 minutes. His average speed of was the record for 27 years, finally being broken by Christoph Strasser in 2013, who averaged. Penseyres trained for years by cycling to work each day.
Penseyres's performance is particularly remarkable for several reasons. The RAAM is continuous from start to finish with no breaks; Penseyres was notable for his ability to forgo sleep to improve his time. Equipment at the time was primitive by today's standards: Penseyres introduced the use of aerobars to mimic a downhill skier's wind resistance advantage. Nutrition during the race was also not nearly as advanced as it is today.