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Michael Broadwith smashes the Land's End to John O'Groats record

40-year-old from Hertfordshire does the end-to-end in 43 hours 25 minutes and 13 seconds

Michael Broadwith has become just the tenth man to break the record for cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats since George Mills, riding a penny farthing, made the first successful end-to-end attempt in 1886. The record now stands at 43 hours 25 minutes and 13 seconds - more than half an hour faster than the existing record.

Three-time national 24-hour champion Broadwith, well ahead of schedule as he broke the Road Records Association 24-hour record with 507.511 miles covered at an average speed of 21.1 miles an hour, had to contend with driving rain and an extremely painful neck later on.

Nevertheless the 40-year-old from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire beat the existing record, set 17 years ago by Gethin Butler, who was among his supporters on the roadside including at Shap Summit, by more than half an hour.

Butler’s record of 44 hours 4 minutes and 19 seconds had stood for 17 years and while a number of riders have attempted to better it in the intervening years, they have been thwarted by factors including the weather, illness, injuries and mechanical problems and the sheer mental and physical fatigue that the challenge entails.

Arctic Tacx RT rider Broadwith, who had set out on his Specialized Shiv from Land’s End at 8am on Friday morning, seemed destined to follow them as the weather turned and the pain in his neck worsened, causing him to resort to propping his head up with one arm, the elbow resting on his aerobars.

Speaking to Paul Jones of Cycling Time Trials after setting the new record, he said: “I managed to figure out some cock-eyed method where I was propping my head up with my arm on the aerobar rest like Rodin’s The Thinker. At least it meant I could descend under control and fairly fast.

“I had a stern talk to myself; ‘for God’s sake, chances like this come across once in a lifetime. If you don’t carry on you’ll think through this moment forever and wonder why you didn’t ride for another 20 minutes.”

But encouraged by his wife Helen, who was leading his support crew – which included their eight-month-old daughter – and helped by strangers who had heard of his plight and managed to source a neck brace in Inverness and get it to him – he arrived at John O’Groats after riding for 43 hours 25 minutes and 13 seconds.

Describing the final stretch along the north-east coast of Scotland, he told Cycling Time Trials, which has a full report of the ride: “It was brutal. You’d climb up just so you could go back down again, I was questioning how many there were. I have thought about this for fifteen years and I have always imagined how amazing it must be to climb Berridale, the last brutal climb, knowing that you've got the record in the bag.

“Then I was actually doing it in the early hours of this morning and thinking 'bloody hell, this is me, in this moment, and I’m climbing up Berridale and I’m going to nail this record, my friend Des running alongside.

“I have to remember it because it is a perfect moment in life where I’m actually living the moment that I wanted to live in incredible intensity,” he added.

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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19 comments

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ken skuse | 5 years ago
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Ride of the year. Congratulations Michael. Fantastic.

 

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
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I can understand the speed is achievable. I know when Im on my TT bike 21mph is very easy to reach and hardly takes much effort.  The astounding aspect is being able to hold the TT position for nearly 2 days.  I beleive his HR was about 120bpm to achieve the speed, so that tiny part of the challenge was relatively easy, but the rest of it.  His neck suffering and having to hold it up with one hand!

 

I would think Jogle is slower becuase of the prevailing winds, but when conditions align, maybe

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Ad Hynkel | 5 years ago
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Incredible. That is pure torture and some achievement.

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pjclinch | 5 years ago
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Not that it's not amazing, but it's still quite a bit slower than the HPV record held by Andy Wilkinson on a recumbent trike at 41 hours, 4 minutes and 22 seconds.

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dassie | 5 years ago
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Excellent work!

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Hedgerow | 5 years ago
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Chapeau. All that AND rogue fireworks to contend with. What an effort

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MarkiMark | 5 years ago
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I've just been physically sick just thinking about it...

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mingmong | 5 years ago
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I would have loved to look into his eyes on the last climb - The suffering must have been monumental.  

Massive respect.   What an achievement!

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EddyBerckx | 5 years ago
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Fantastic stuff, mega kudos that man!!

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kil0ran | 5 years ago
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Mind-bending. 21mph+ average? Average! Unfathomable. I know that the first 24 hours is reasonably flat but that's still 2/3rds of the pace of the Hour record, sustained outside with all that entails.

Is there are JOGLE record? Wonder if it's faster?

 

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Derk Davies replied to kil0ran | 5 years ago
4 likes
kil0ran wrote:

Mind-bending. 21mph+ average? Average! Unfathomable. I know that the first 24 hours is reasonably flat but that's still 2/3rds of the pace of the Hour record, sustained outside with all that entails.

Is there are JOGLE record? Wonder if it's faster?

 

Must be faster, it's all downhill on my map............... cheeky sorry, couldn't resist. I'm off.

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Leviathan replied to Derk Davies | 5 years ago
1 like
Tim K wrote:
kil0ran wrote:

Mind-bending. 21mph+ average? Average! Unfathomable. I know that the first 24 hours is reasonably flat but that's still 2/3rds of the pace of the Hour record, sustained outside with all that entails.

Is there are JOGLE record? Wonder if it's faster?

 

Must be faster, it's all downhill on my map............... cheeky sorry, couldn't resist. I'm off.

It is actual downhill, gravity is less nearer the Equator.

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to kil0ran | 5 years ago
1 like
kil0ran wrote:

Mind-bending. 21mph+ average? Average! Unfathomable. I know that the first 24 hours is reasonably flat but that's still 2/3rds of the pace of the Hour record, sustained outside with all that entails.

Is there are JOGLE record? Wonder if it's faster?

Puts the 'mighty atom' Eileen Sheridan's E2E of 870miles in 59 hours in 1954 into perspective. 2/3 the pace of Broadwith and only 15% down on your comparison of Broadwith's pace to the hour record (at the time 1956 it was 46km by Anquetil)

She did it despite horrendous conditions when she reached the Borders and plenty of rain beforehand, she continued on after the E2E to do a 1000miles in 73hours.

Would love to see retro bike records by modern riders (narrow tyres/toe-clips/DT levers no aero gear/helmets) to give us a closer comparison to the old days.

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Beecho replied to kil0ran | 5 years ago
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kil0ran wrote:

Mind-bending. 21mph+ average? Average! Unfathomable. I know that the first 24 hours is reasonably flat...

Not the first chunk. Deepest darkest Cornwall is a bitch.

But yes, mind bending.

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kil0ran replied to Beecho | 5 years ago
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Beecho wrote:
kil0ran wrote:

Mind-bending. 21mph+ average? Average! Unfathomable. I know that the first 24 hours is reasonably flat...

Not the first chunk. Deepest darkest Cornwall is a bitch.

But yes, mind bending.

I'm pretty sure forcing someone into a time trial tuck for almost 48 hours would qualify as torture under the Geneva Convention. The stuff we do to ourselves "Because it's there"...

 

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Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
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Mental! I can't even do 5 miles at 21mph!

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
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Chapeau

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peted76 | 5 years ago
2 likes

Awesome!

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rct | 5 years ago
1 like

Fantastic achievement.  Well done Mike.

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