Former world champion to attempt Para-Cycling Hour Record on Saturday

Colin Lynch is aiming to improve on his old foe Laurent Thirionet's existing C2 record by two kilometres

Chris Marshall-Bell
By Chris Marshall-Bell
published

A two-time para-cycling world champion will try to break an Hour Record that has stood since 1999 on Saturday (October 10) at Manchester Velodrome.

Colin Lynch, a below-knee amputee (opens in new tab), is aiming to better Frenchman Laurent Thirionet’s distance of 41.031km in the C2 category.

Lynch was the C2 road time trial world champion in 2011 and the individual pursuit world champion in 2012. He was denied a bronze medal at the London 2012 Paralympics by a tenth of a second from Thirionet in the C2 individual pursuit.

>>> The Hour Record: An interactive timeline

“My target is 43km,” he told Cycling Weekly. “I have been training at 44km/h for 20 minutes in training but I’d be kidding myself if I thought I could sustain that for an hour. It’s an exercise in restraint.”

Lynch is going for the record at this time of year to coincide with his preparation for the Rio Paralympic Games.

How to beat long time trials

 

“I planned it for this time of year as a way of starting my winter’s training. I want to go into winter stronger than ever,” he added.

“Every year you need to start to train earlier and earlier to get good results. Next year I want to be in absolutely perfect condition.”

The Para-T rider begins his attempt at 2pm, during the final day of the UCI World Track Championships for Masters. Tickets are £8 on the door. www.cyclingmasters.com

Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Chris Marshall-Bell
Chris Marshall-Bell

Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.


Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.

Latest