55.433 Seconds! Jeffrey Hoogland Just Smashed the 1-Kilometer Track Bike Time Trial World Record
Yesterday at 2 p.m. local time in the Aguascalientes, Mexico Velodrome, known as the fastest track in the world, Jeffrey Hoogland set out to break the 1-kilometer world record. And he absolutely annihilated it. The previous record of 56.303 seconds was set by French rider Francois Pervis in 2013. But yesterday, it was all Hoogland. With each furious lap, he widened the gap, ending with a time of 55.433 seconds.
The BBC reported that the 30-year-old cyclist, “who had to be helped off his bike by Netherlands national coach Mehdi Kordi and took on extra oxygen after finishing, told Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad: ‘I can’t really enjoy it yet. It hurts everywhere but I’m very happy with the world record—that’s why I came here.’”
Besides needing supplemental oxygen to recover, he also took 20-minutes before he could speak to reporters. And Road.cc reported that during his cool down ride he vomited into a bin and had to be given a wet towel for his neck and forehead by his girlfriend—and fellow track cyclist—Shanne Braspennincx. But it felt better to get back on the bike and ride a bit, than to have all of his muscles completely seize up.
To be clear, Hoogland started from a halted, standing position, and put down enough watts to essentially average 40 mph for nearly a minute. That’s about what most people could do in a car. Cycling Weekly reported that, “in the minutes before Hoogland began his effort, a motorbike circled the track at speed to generate air flow inside the velodrome. This was done to simulate an in-race situation, where typically there are two riders, racing on either side of the track.”
Hoogland is the reigning Olympic champion in the team sprint, and a nine-time world champion in the team sprint and the time trial. Next up, he will prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but not before attempting to break the 200-meter record later today.
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