Skip to main content

Long cycle ride

A 100 year old Frenchman recently set a new world cycling record, pedalling his bicycle 100km in four hours, 17 minutes and achieving an average speed of 23.3km/h at Lyon velodrome. Competing in his first cycle race 86 years ago when he had to lie about his age to enter, he only retired when he reached the age of 89 and worked at an array of jobs including sports instructor and fire fighter, while he also boxed and weighlifted competitively in the past. A keen cyclist, he commented that after he reached the
December 13, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A 100 year old Frenchman recently set a new world cycling record, pedalling his bicycle 100km in four hours, 17 minutes and achieving an average speed of 23.3km/h at Lyon velodrome. Competing in his first cycle race 86 years ago when he had to lie about his age to enter, he only retired when he reached the age of 89 and worked at an array of jobs including sports instructor and fire fighter, while he also boxed and weighlifted competitively in the past. A keen cyclist, he commented that after he reached the age of 95, he limited his cycle rides to distances of just 100km. The man has faced a barrage of medical tests as doctors try to find out the key to his longevity and is said to have the physique of a healthy 50 year old. He has attributed his health and fitness to moderation in all things, including wine, women and song; however it is not clear whether these will be made available to all for free on the French national health system.

Related Content

  • Ecuador’s worryingly high fatal crash rate
    June 21, 2013
    Ecuador’s shocking high road fatality rate is giving cause for concern. Official statistics compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that Ecuador is second only to Venezuela in Latin America with regard to fatalities on the road network. The WHO figures show that Ecuador has an average of 28 deaths/100,000 inhabitants from road crashes, well above the global average of 18 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. Only Venezuela’s even more startling figure of 37 deaths/100,000 inhabitants is higher in Lati
  • Fire red Ferrari fun
    December 14, 2015
    The person who rented a 458 Italia in the UK may wish having paid slightly more for full insurance cover. The sporty red Ferrari, which has a top speed of 323km/h, was driven into a terraced house in the town of Luton, just to the north of London. The car was seriously damaged and had to be written off, much to the chagrin of the rental firm, while the 29 year old driver lost his €7,094.56 deposit. Quite how the driver, who had rented the high performance sportscar for a wedding, managed to crash into a hou
  • Well-educated personnel are the best investment for the future says the Ammann international training centre
    May 20, 2014
    Far too often, managers will view training as a luxury and not as a competitive and strategic necessity. Lazy team leaders regularly argue that it is a waste of time and money training their people, not least because these same trainees might subsequently leave the organisation. Courses are seen as an interruption, and a good way to delay things. There is always something much more pressing and important on the to-do list and staff can end up feeling forced into the training department. But these are weak a
  • Golden route to success
    July 20, 2012
    Built in 1937 and still the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay remains in fine shape despite its age - Andrew Bardin Williams writes The Golden Gate Bridge turned 75 years old on May 27 and continues to play a key role in the transportation, engineering, construction and ITS communities. The structure has played an important historical role, an engineering success that boosted the economy of the region. And it also led the way as the first major pub