Congratulations to Marko Baloh set 10 new WUCA records (and 2 GWR) during his 1000Km attempt on Aug 24-25. This was in the Male, 50-59 age group, outdoor track, standard bike, officiated categories.

Distance Event KilometersTimeAvg Sp (Km)Avg Sp (Miles)estExisting records : 50-59, Male, solo, upright bikenew WUCA Recnew GWRnon-age group record
300 Km Outdoor Track08:18:38.5336.1022.43none for 300 KmYesNoStanislav Verstovšek, 45, Men 18-49, 00:07:11:34.37, 25.92 mph
500 Km Outdoor Track14:03:46.0235.5522.09none for 500 KmYesNoStanislav Verstovšek, 45, Men 18-49, 00:12:17:44.07, 25.27 mph
1000 Km Outdoor Track1:05:31:11.7033.8821.051:5:31:35none for 1000 KmYesYesNone
Distance Event MilesTimeAvg Sp (Miles)Avg Sp (Km)Existing records : 50-59, Male, solo, upright bikenew WUCA Recnew GWR
200 Mile Outdoor Track08:56:22.2622.3736.01Tony Mellsop, 59, 00:09:33:35, 20.92 mphYesNoStanislav Verstovšek, 45, Men 18-49, 00:07:45:5.59, 25.80 mph
300 Mile Outdoor Track13:34:13.9722.1135.58none for 300 MileYesNoStanislav Verstovšek, 45, Men 18-49, 00:11:50:31.39, 25.33 mph
500 Mile Outdoor Track22:44:16.2621.9935.39none for 500 MileYesNoRalph Diseviscourt, 44, Men 18-49, 00:21:01:46, 23.78 mph
Timed EventMilesKilometersAvg Sp (Miles)Avg Sp (Km)Existing records : 50-59, Male, solo, upright bikenew WUCA Recnew GWR
6 Hour Outdoor Track137.753221.69222.9636.95none for 6 HourYesNoStanislav Verstovšek , 2022-06-10 – 157.606 miles 26.27 mph
12 Hour Outdoor Track265.919427.95522.1635.66Tony Mellsop , 2014-12-27 , 246.967 miles – 20.58 mphYesNoMitchell Anderson ,42 , 2017-03-13,305.219 miles, 25.43 mph
24 Hour Outdoor Track525.176845.18921.8835.22Carles Nebot, 51, 2015-06-20, 423.365 miles, 17.64 mphYesNoRalph Diseviscourt, 44, 2020-07-11, 568.800 miles, 23.7 mph
Oldest
Oldest to ride >500 miles in 24 hrsN/AYesYesMichael Secrest, 54 , US , Solo, Standard, 2007-06-15, 535.86 miles – Indoor Velo

Rider’s Narrative Summary

1000KM Outdoor Track Record by Marko Baloh

The official start was on Saturday August 24th, 2024 at 11AM exactly. The Track was an outdoor track made inside the race horse venue Polena in Lenart v Slovenskih goricah, which was already homologated and used numerous times for cycling world records. First time by yours truly in September 2008 for my first ever 24h world record.

I wanted to go for this record for multiple reasons. First one was to see what my old(-ish) body is still able to do in such long arduous events and how it will compare to my previous ones. Besides going for the 1000km record, my biggest wish (goal) was to add my 20th 500+ mile 24h attempt to my “collection”.

I used my Spiegel Hurricane Time Trial bike which was set up a bit too aggressively for my liking, but in the time frame available, I just had to hope my neck would hold up for the duration of the ride. Obviously it did! The special bike part I have to mention is the Infinity Bike Seat E3, which is the most comfortable bike seat in the World and made my ride free of butt pain.

I used the 4Endurance Nduranz Energy Drink, plus their bars, gels and jelly gums. Plus lots of water and ice for cooling down as well as hydrating. The nutrition & hydration was spot on.

Usually the best part of my attempts are the first hours, this time around it turned into a heat & wind driven suffer. The first hour was OK, after that with the temperature already above 30*C, my power dropped and my hourly average was way lower compared to my previous attempts. Already in the second hour my skinsuit was white with layers of salt, which is never a good sign for the things to come. I was a bit deflated seeing how quickly my traveling speed was dropping, but kept on pushing, drawing on my experience that ups and downs are normal in ultra-cycling and I just had to be patient waiting to regain some power.

I mean I was still on the schedule for the 1000 WR, but my 500 mile 24h goal would be in jeopardy if I didn’t regain some power / speed. It did happen in the cool of the night, surprisingly (or not for me) my speed went way up after 14 hours passed, so about 1AM local time. With the temperatures at 20*C now and no winds, my traveling speed went back up to 36+km/h. If I could hold this for some hours, I would be saved. And I managed to do it all the way to 20 hours or so, when the heat and crazy strong winds returned.

Did I mention I also struggle with some heel pain with high temperatures? Well I do and this time was no different. I had to massage my heels often during the first afternoon and even more so on the second day. A loss of time for sure, but it made it possible for me to continue riding.

I had just one 56 seconds stop in the first 24 hours, for changing the dying front light. The long pit stop came after finishing the 24h, I needed to stop for a shower because of all the salt coming out of me. After a quick massage I continued for the remaining 154km. I changed the clothing and due to the excessive heat, I also changed the helmet from a TT one to the road helmet. I passed the 1000KM mark at 29h 31min 35sec. 

I am happy with the ride. I do wonder how I would have done in more normal temperatures.With the conditions as they were I did my best and am so proud it was enough for a few new world records.  I guess I am not too old for this anyway… 😉

The crew did an excellent job as always and so did the officials. Certainly a day to remember, I would like to thank everyone who was a part of this project. Especially the spectators who gave me extra energy and strength, thank you all!