Two riders, six hours, one Guinness World Record

Jan 20, 2024

Veteran pair smash previous mark as they average 28mph on the 168-mile ride

Former time trial champion Matt Bottrill has added another string to his bow, teaming up with British age group Hour record holder Peter Horton to set a new two-man, six-hour Guinness World record at Newport Velodrome.

The pair rode 168.476 miles, taking 20-minute relay turns and managing to average 28.08mph.

They added more than 20 miles to the previous record of 147.077 miles in the March ride, which has just been ratified by Guinness World Records. The pair are expecting their certificates imminently.

"At the beginning Matt set off faster than Eddy Merckx's [1972 Hour record] pace," says Horton of the record attempt. "I was thinking 'Oh my god what do I have to do?'. My wife did say I looked a bit stressed the first couple of sessions.

"But he slowed down a little bit – not much – where I actually managed to speed up during the day. Maybe because I was thinking, I've got to keep up with him. But at the end of the day it's a two-man thing."

As well as setting a new record, Bottrill and Horton raised money for the Cyclists Fighting Cancer charity through their attempt – £1,715 at the last count.

Their new record was fuelled largely by sports drink and bars, as you might expect, but Bottrill also went a bit old-school, tucking into a ham and cheese sandwich at one point, says Horton.

Both are, as you would expect, highly accomplished against the clock. Bottrill, 45, who is now a coach and coaches Horton, has been a national champion at all the standard distances, and has held British time trial competition records at 50 and 25 miles.

Horton, 56, is a Race Across America (RAAM) team veteran and is also the British Cycling 50-59yrs National Hour record holder, with a distance of 42.482km and holds several other World Ultracycling Association track records. He even recently bagged a bronze medal in the Florida state time trial championship, after travelling to the US on holiday. Being British, though, he wasn't allowed a jersey.

He plans to return to the States next year for another crack at RAAM, again as part of a team.

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After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.

Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.

A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.

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