Huub-Wattbike set individual pursuit track record at sea level

The trade team have taken the fight to national squads – and have now set a new record
Alex Ballinger

The British Huub-Wattbike track team continue to break the mould by setting a new individual pursuit sea level record.

John Archibald, brother of Scottish track star and Cycling Weekly columnist Katie, set a new fastest time for the men’s individual pursuit at the Swiss Track Cycling Challenge on Wednesday.

The Huub team have been shaking up track cycling by competing against the world’s best national track teams as a trade outfit.

Last week the squad took their first major win at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in London, beating the Belgian squad in the team pursuit.

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Archibald set a time of 4:10.177 for the individual pursuit, knocking four 10ths of a second off the time of previous holder Jack Bobridge.

The sea level record is just three seconds slower than the overall world record, set by American team-mate Ashton Lambie in August.

Lambie, who set the record in Mexico at the Pan-American Championships, joined Huub-Wattbike last month and contributed to the squad’s pursuit gold in London.

The Mexican track sits at 1,888m above sea level and regularly sees fast times set on it’s boards, but Lambie’s recent ride was blessed with near perfect conditions as several other US national records were set at the same competition.

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The Derby-based team, who sarcastically refer to themselves as citizens of Derbados – a reference to their trade status in a field dominated by national teams – is made up of Harry Tanfield, Dan Bigham, John Archibald, Jacob Tipper, Jonny Wale and Lambie.

Archibald’s sea level record puts him second in the all-time list of the fastest 4000m individual pursuit times.

He sits ahead of Australian Bobridge, Britain’s Chris Boardman who set his record in 1996 and Charlie Tanfield’s time from the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

The individual pursuit may have been pulled from the Olympic Games but the track cycling competition over four kilometres is still contested at the UCI Track World Championships, National Championships, selected World Cup rounds and other international and national competitions.