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news
Michael Gower and Graham Earl crossing the English Channel (via Berkhamsted CC)Hertfordshire cyclists break Guinness World Record for fastest pedal-powered Channel crossing (+ video)
Two members of Berkhamsted Cycling Club have set a new Guinness World Record, subject to ratification, for the ‘Fastest Pedal-Powered Channel Crossing’ – the latest in a string of records set in recent months by cyclist based in the Hertfordshire town.
Michael Gower and Graham Earl took 6 hours 39 minutes to complete the crossing on their custom-built, pedal-powered tandem catamaran called Dominic, according to a post on the club website.
The pair’s exploits in beating the previous record, set by Paul Tucker in 2002 and which stood at 7 hours 9 minutes, were featured on French TV.
According to Strava, last Thursday’s 38.5-kilometre ride from Dover to Wissant across what is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes had a height gain of just 6 metres (we’re no experts in matters nautical, but we suspect the tide may have had an effect here).
The same day saw Berkhamsted-based cyclist Nick Clarke break the Pembroke to Great Yarmouth ‘Side to Side’ record, while in June this year Mike Broadwith, who is also based in the town, set a new record for riding from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
While Gower and Earl will have secured the Guinness World Record once it has been ratified, it is not in fact the fastest crossing of the English Channel in a pedal-powered craft, although it is the quickest one by sea.
In June 1979,Bryan Allen, piloting the human-powered aircraft MacReady Gossamer Albatross, crossed the Channel in 2 hours 49 minutes.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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6 comments
Not wearing helmets either, what a shocking example (lol).
Brilliant ride and somehow a very cheerful thing to do. Congratulations to those guys for a well executed raid. Can that thing carry much wine for the return journey?
There is obviously something in the water in Berkhamsted!
Chapeau! Or whatever the seafaring equivalent is...
Aarrr!
Didn’t Chris Froome cycle the channel tunnel few years back? That could have been faster than the pedal powered aircraft crossing?
Yes, 2014. That's one way to get passed the "no more cyclists ever" across the channel decision from Euro Tunnel. The guys really should get a King of Channel for the segment but Strava won't like the acronym.