Cycling: Austrian rider Strasser starts world record attempt over 24 hours

The Austrian extreme cyclist Christoph Strasser will start a very special world record attempt on Saturday (13 o’ clock).The four-time winner of the Race Across America wants to set a new record in 24 hour cycling at the Velodrom in Grenchen, Switzerland.Strasser is planning an average speed of 40 km/h, which would bring him to 960 km.This is roughly the same as the route from Leipzig to Paris.

On the 250m long wooden oval in Grenchen Strasser has to complete 3616 laps.A final test six hours before a week ago in Vienna gave the 34-year-old a lot of encouragement:”I managed to reach an average speed of 42 km/h.That makes me very confident.Is the mystical 1000-kilometre mark possible?That’s what I dream of, but I’ll be modest.Every millimetre that I would beat the current record would be a success,”Strasser said.

The Slovenian Marko Baloh, who achieved 903.76 kilometres in Italy in 2010, holds the current record of 24 hours on the track:”This is definitely a cool project.But I couldn’t imagine myself driving 24 hours in a circle on the train.I wish him all the best for it,”said time trial world champion Tony Martin about Strasser’s plans.

From the bike will rise Strasser only for necessary toilet breaks.The time trial suit is not changed, eaten and drunk only on the bike.The only stops are for pee breaks or technical problems,”said Strassers Temachef Michael Kogler.