Congratulation to John Bennett who set a new mark for the 100 Km distance in the following categories: Male 60-69, standard bike, non-fixed gear, outdoor velodrome.
Riders Narrative
John Bennett
100km Outdoor Velodrome, Road Bike. Gears
4th April 2025
06.30am
Chiang Mai Velodrome Thailand
I started at 06.30 am as the sun rose, this is Thailand and the temperature was already 27 degrees, rising to 32 degrees by the end, humidity at 95% with almost no wind. Pollution levels were dangerously high due to the farmers burning crops at this time of year, but I decided to go ahead.
I was inspired to attempt this record by Jonas Bohr, multiple WUCA record holder, who I met in Phuket 3 years ago. It took me to 3 years to lose 20kg ( 95kg-75kg) and get my threshold power back to a decent level of 300 watts aged 60. I have always been goal driven, riding as an Elite in France 1984-1986, and winning over 150 races in the UK over the years. I retired from racing in 2011, 14 years ago, so this was my first big solo effort in a very long time.
I rode my road bike with clip on aero bars and double disc wheels, I used to be a university professor of sport science, my work now is coaching and optimizing aerodynamics for riders, so my CdA on the road bike is .195, which is about as aero as you can get on a road bike geometry and old man hips.
The velodrome is 333.33 meters long and I was consistently doing 27.5 second laps @ 43.3 km/hr @ 250 watts, bang on schedule for the absolute record I wanted. All was going well until approx 75km when I started to cramp in my quads and adductors, I eased up hoping to ride through the cramp, but the pain was not pleasant. I don’t like giving up so I told myself to forget the absolute record and try and get through the last 20km and break the age group record for 60+. It wasn’t easy and I was crazy slow now, almost unable to pedal with the pain. My team, including my wife, were by the start finish area encouraging a grumpy old man to keep going. We had a lap board running and those last 70 laps lasted a very long time, especially the last 10. Finally, I finished, knowing I had failed on the absolute record, but had at least taken the age record. I really wasn’t in a good mood and it took some persuading to even celebrate the age group record.
I couldn’t understand my cramp issues as I had ridden on the road this distance and position with no problems, I had 3 litres of water on the bike and 80 grams of carbs an hour. However as soon as I saw my data I knew exactly where I had gone wrong. Firstly, on the velodrome there are no micro-rests like there are on the road. Secondly, I was so focused on holding the black line (shortest line) and power required I failed to realize my cadence was a crazy low 75rpm, I normally rode at 85-90rpm. This constant high torque with no micro rests was just too much for me to handle, a stupid mistake and I should have known better.
Writing this report 10 days after the attempt has given me time to reflect and be happy that I took the age group record after a 14 year hiatus from competition. I will be back to attempt this record again in 6 few months, this time on a proper Time Trial bike setup and training indoors at a fixed wattage for 2 hours at a constant torque. In fact, I am writing this on 17th April my 61st birthday and my Trek Speed Concept has just arrived, already super motivated to go again.