By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher
One Year Later, a New Highest Annual Mileage Record Set
News came last week from Kurt Searvogel, the man who just last year broke what seemed a nearly unbreakable record that had taken the world decades to better, that his record had been broken again within a year.
From RBR’s Issue No. 698, published January 21, 2016:
If you recall, we ran an article early last year about a couple of attempts at the long-standing (since 1939) record for most annual miles. That record, 75,065, was held by Tommy Godwin, a Brit who was 26 when he set the record, long since thought to be unbreakable.
There were three serious attempts at the record last year, and as you might imagine, it’s the sort of pursuit that requires pristine luck above all else. Turns out, that luck held out for only one of the three. We won’t get into the details about the other two, but one, Steven Abraham, 42, has restarted his pursuit after behind hit by a moped while riding last March, breaking his ankle.
Kurt Searvogel’s luck held out, and the 53-year-old polished off his 365th day just over a week ago, on January 9. His total: 76,156 miles, eclipsing Godwin by 1,091 miles.
Searvogel was among the first to tweek his congratulations to Amanda Coker for breaking his record (his complete tweet follows). Her new HAMR won’t be official until she finishes her 365 days of riding. But just let it sink in for a moment: She will have ridden a few thousand miles more than 76,156! The mind boggles!
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Long-Time Pro Michele Scarponi Killed on Training Ride
The sad truth is that even the best road cyclists in the world are no different from the rest of us roadies in facing the ultimate dangers of the sport on any given ride.
Two incidents in the past week bear out this stark reality: On Saturday, on a morning training ride near his home in Filottrano, Italy, 37-year-old Astana rider Michele Scarponi was hit by a van at a crossroads and killed. He leaves behind a wife and two small children.
It was announced a few days later that Scarponi was to be buried on Tuesday in his Astana team kit.
“The bike was his life, we’ll say goodbye to him dressed as a cyclist,” said Scarponi’s widow, Anna Tommasi, according to Il Corriere della Sera. “For me and the children, this was the Michele who came home from work every day.”
As that shocking news was continuing to sink in, it was learned that on Monday, on a training ride outside of Paris, that Belgian Pro Continental Wanty-Groupe Gobert team rider Yoann Offredo was beaten with a baseball bat in aroad rage incident.
According to Cycling Weekly, in a statement on the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team website, the French rider provided details about the attack, said to take place southwest of Paris.
“I was training with two colleagues in the Chevreuse valley when a car sped past very close to us. Suddenly the driver braked with the intention of making us crash,” Offredo explained.
“I wanted to talk to the driver, but she was ready to get out of the car with a box cutter. In a reflex I blocked the door of the car. Then the passenger got out of the car and picked up a baseball bat from the boot.
“With that he hit me and afterwards he headbutted me. The police then intervened. A case was opened and a complaint filed.”
Offredo posted some of the disturbing post-attack photos on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/yoann.offredo